(The Center Square) – The University of Michigan is under pressure to shut down its Joint Institute with Chinese Shanghai Jiao Tong University, with lawmakers citing national security and espionage concerns due to the partnership aiding China’s military modernization and intelligence capabilities.
In a letter sent to UM President Santa Ono, U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., highlighted how research at the institute has contributed to the advancement of China’s defense technologies, including the development of nuclear weapons, carrier rockets, anti-corrosion technology for military aircraft, CT imaging technology for military equipment scanning, fighter jets, and nuclear submarines.
“This military-academic integration enables Shanghai Jiao Tong to make significant contributions to the PRC’s most sensitive defense programs,” said Moolenaar, who is chair of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “Given these concerning developments, I strongly encourage you to shutter the partnership between U-M and Shanghai Jiao Tong and take the necessary steps to safeguard the integrity of federally funded research at U-M.”
Institute researchers, which include scientists from the People’s Liberation Army, received funding from both U.S. taxpayer dollars and China’s 863 Program, which supports Chinese military technology development.
The institute also coordinates research at a center with the company CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturer and technology company with ties to China’s defense industry and forced labor in Xinjiang.
As part of the partnership, UM hosts students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University on its campus. These students, including those part of the Joint Institute, begin military and ideological training starting in their freshman year, including the requirement to produce reflections on how their training helps them “resonate with the motherland’s development.”
Due to these concerns, Moolenaar also requested that UM more carefully vet international students studying on U-M’s campus.
The letter comes after five Chinese Joint Institute students were caught spying on Michigan’s Camp Grayling military training facility in 2023 and subsequently lied to federal investigators.
More recently, a Chinese noncitizen UM student was charged with voter fraud after allegedly illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot, although it is unknown whether the student, whose identity has not been revealed, is involved at the Joint Institute.
