‘Pentagon-funded research at colleges aided Chinese military’

Washington: Over a recent two-year period, the Pentagon funded hundreds of projects done in collaboration with universities in China and institutes linked to

that nation’s defence industry, including many blacklisted by the US government for working with the Chinese military, a congressional investigation has found.

The report, released Friday by House Republicans on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, argues the projects have allowed China to exploit US research partnerships for military gains while the two countries are locked in a tech and arms rivalry.

“American taxpayer dollars should be used to defend the nation — not strengthen its foremost strategic competitor,” Republicans wrote in the report. “Failing to safeguard American research from hostile foreign exploitation will continue to erode US technological dominance and place our national defence capabilities at risk,” it said.

The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Beijing has in the past said science and technological cooperation between the two countries is mutually beneficial and helps the two sides cope with global challenges.

The congressional report said some officials at the Defence Department argued research should remain open as long as it is “neither controlled nor classified”.