GOP report says US-funded research aided Chinese military
A congressional probe has found that the Pentagon financed hundreds of projects with Chinese universities and defense-linked institutes
WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) — A congressional probe has found that the Pentagon financed hundreds of projects with Chinese universities and defense-linked institutes over the past two years, including several already blacklisted by Washington for ties to Beijing’s military.
The findings, released by House Republicans on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, argue that U.S. taxpayer money has helped China advance its defense capabilities while both nations remain locked in a technology and security rivalry. “American taxpayer dollars should be used to defend the nation — not strengthen its foremost strategic competitor,” Republicans wrote in the report, warning that failure to safeguard research risks undermining U.S. technological dominance and national defense.
The committee identified 1,400 research papers published between June 2023 and June 2025 that acknowledged Pentagon funding and were co-authored with Chinese partners. These publications stemmed from some 700 defense grants worth more than $2.5 billion. More than half involved organizations connected to China’s defense research and industrial base.
One example cited was a nuclear scientist at Carnegie Science who worked extensively on Pentagon-backed projects while also holding appointments at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences. His research on high-energy materials and high-pressure physics, relevant to nuclear weapons, was honored in China for advancing the country’s national goals. Another case involved Arizona State University and the University of Texas collaborating with Shanghai Jiao Tong and Beihang University — institutions with known defense ties — on Pentagon-funded studies of decision-making in uncertain environments, work that has applications for electronic warfare and cyber defense.
The report criticized Defense Department policies that allow partnerships with foreign institutions even when they appear on U.S. government blacklists. It recommended more than a dozen measures, including prohibiting all Pentagon-funded collaboration with Chinese military-linked entities. Committee chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., has introduced legislation that would codify such bans and cut funding to U.S. universities maintaining joint institutes with Chinese schools.
While Pentagon officials have sometimes defended open research when it is “neither controlled nor classified,” the report called that stance dangerously lax. Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent also warned that the findings show “the vulnerability of federally funded research to foreign infiltration,” urging greater transparency on universities’ international ties and a whole-of-government approach to counter malign influence.
Republican investigators said they are not seeking to end all academic collaboration with China, but specifically those tied to Beijing’s military and defense sector.
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