The Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in the United States has announced the termination of its cooperation with two Chinese universities. This decision comes after two Republican lawmakers raised concerns about potential national security risks associated with the collaboration.
On May 28, EMU released a statement on its official website stating that they have detailed plans to end their teaching collaboration with Guangxi University (GU) and Beibu Gulf University (BGU) in a letter sent to U.S. Representatives John Moolenaar and Tim Walberg.
The university received a letter from the two lawmakers on February 18, requesting EMU to consider terminating projects involving collaboration with Chinese universities.
In the letter, EMU President James Smith emphasized the university’s commitment to protecting national security. He highlighted EMU’s pride in being designated by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance and Cyber Defense, stating that EMU fully complies with U.S. disclosure requirements.
Prior to this decision, EMU and Beibu Gulf University had established the Eastern Michigan Joint College of Engineering, also known as the Joint College of Engineering.
According to the official website of the Joint College of Engineering, the institution was founded to meet the demand for engineering talent and support regional economic development in Guangxi. It operates as an international, innovative joint engineering college under the jurisdiction of Beibu Gulf University. It was officially approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education in May 2021 as Guangxi’s first Sino-foreign cooperative education institution.
President Smith mentioned ongoing negotiations with Beibu Gulf University to ensure that currently enrolled students can transfer to other universities to complete their studies. He clarified that no students are registered in the teaching collaboration project between EMU and Guangxi University, and they are in discussions with their partners to terminate the project.
In his statement, Smith emphasized that both collaborations focused solely on teaching and did not involve research or technology transfer. He added that these projects did not include cybersecurity instruction, and all course content is publicly available.
Founded in 1849, the Eastern Michigan University is the second oldest public university in the state of Michigan, with nearly 13,000 students enrolled across undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral, and certificate programs in arts, sciences, and professional fields.