The US Department of Education (ED) recently released a batch of new data revealing donations from sanctioned foreign enterprises and universities to American universities. Among them, donations from sanctioned entities in China amounted to as many as 527. This has increased concerns across various sectors about the long-standing issue of the Chinese Communist Party stealing cutting-edge American technology and research achievements.
According to Newsweek’s report on Saturday, a spreadsheet document titled “Counterparties of Concern” shows a total of 697 donations in this category.
Among them, Chinese tech giant Huawei and its US subsidiary FutureWei provided 156 donations to multiple US universities, totaling $42 million. Another major donor is Beijing Institute of Technology, which has ties to the Chinese military industry and is one of the “Seven Sons of National Defense,” with a cumulative donation of over $49 million to American universities.
The data shows that entities sanctioned by the US from China, Russia, Serbia, and Israel have collectively donated $405 million to dozens of American universities, with Chinese entities accounting for $309 million, or three-quarters of the total.
In comparison, donations from sanctioned Russian entities totaled $66 million, with the majority flowing to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen stated that after Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the university informed its Russian partners and terminated cooperation with them.
Chairman Jeffrey Stoff of the US-based nonprofit organization Center for Research Security & Integrity commented to Newsweek that the Department of Education’s release of this data helps enhance transparency to curb China’s expanding influence in the US and prevent the outflow of critical technology and knowledge.
He pointed out that some US universities had not fully disclosed relevant donation information in the past, and the Department of Education should more actively enforce declaration requirements in the future.
In recent years, the US government has repeatedly declared China as a major strategic competitor. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has previously stated that technology is the main battlefield of international strategic competition, and China aims to achieve a leading position in technology, economy, and military by 2049.
As the disclosed data only covers information voluntarily reported to the Department of Education by universities under Section 117, there is still a gray area between the reported data and the actual situation.
Moreover, some donors were added to the US sanction lists after completing donations, and some donations continued after the counterpart was sanctioned.
Therefore, due to incomplete disclosure of donation information by American universities, it is still difficult for the public to fully grasp the extent of donations from foreign enterprises and universities to US universities.
During a hearing titled “Stealth Stealing: China’s Ongoing Theft of U.S. Innovation” held by the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 22, several senators and experts warned that China has been persistently stealing American innovative technologies in various fields such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, energy, telecommunications, and weaponry. This not only results in significant economic losses for the US but may also potentially alter the competitive landscape between the US and China.