China exploits American universities, students to improve military dominance: Report

More often than not, China has been in the news for a number of negative reasons apart from the stories that talk of the country's progress. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led government has faced severe criticism for several issues, two of the most talked about ones being the deadly Coronavirus pandemic that caused enormous losses to economies the world over, and the violation of human rights which has resulted in massive boycott of the Beijing Olympics 2022 by the international community.

China is widely known for influencing the mediascape in the country, and as reports claim, the country has almost made censoring the reports of its media houses a priority, and hence, trust issues have undoubtedly become a major problem for the country. As per a survey report by the Associated Press, which includes responses of citizens from 14 countries, it is known that majority of people had a rather pessimistic view about the Presient Xi Jinping-led nation. Now, in the most recent development, it has been reported that China has been exploiting universities of the United States to bolster its nuclear and cyber-espionage programs, and it continues to do so, as per a report.

China is using existing relationships with US universities to boost military power

A report released by the Foundation for Defence of Democracies think tank has discovered that China is using its existing relationships with American universities to collect information and technological know-how to 'achieve Chinese military dominance', as per Fox News.

The report states that China's civilian university system plays a major role in the country's military-industrial complex including nuclear and cyber-espionage programs. 

The CCP has allegedly 'ordered' civilian universities and all students to comply with its military-civil fusion strategy and integrate military, civilian and commercial investments to 'advance China's interest', as reported by Fox News.

Going by the report, there are 34 American universities that continue to work with Confucius Institutes, which are reportedly CCP-sponsored programmes, and have been designed to boost educational and cultural ties worldwide. Further, as per Fox News, the report states that there are four US varsities namely Stanford University, the University of California in Santa Barbara, the University of Utah, and Washington's Pacific Lutheran University, which have open partnerships with universities in China, and have allegedly been flagged as reinforcing China's nuclear program. 

Interim Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and spokesperson for the University of Utah, Chris Nelson stated that it would be ending its partnership with Confucius Institutes in June 2023 when the contract is supposed to end. ''We haven't had any concerns about the US institute being a hub for espionage or propaganda,'' he said. 

''The Institute has played an important role in increasing linguistic and cultural literacy about China among Utahns,'' Nelson added.  

Several countries boycott Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Already, several countries, led by the United States, have declared a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games. It is worth noting that the Joe Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, however, US athletes will be competing at the Olympics. Moreover, Canada has become the latest country to join the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Australia and the United Kingdom are the two other countries that have joined the US in diplomatic boycott of Olympics.

China asserts that during the Winter Games, Beijing will be isolated from the rest of the country to ensure that the virus does not penetrate the capital city. China has made zero local transmissions an official policy, at the expense of people's freedom and liberties. Hong Kong Post reported, citing CNN report, "cases have been detected over the past week in the country's largest cities, from Beijing and Shanghai to Guangzhou."

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: AP