A British study shows that joint research between British universities and Chinese partners and the rapid increase in the number of Chinese students studying in the U.K. have led to a “strategic dependence” of British universities on China, posing many risks, the Financial Times reported March 4. The study urges the U.K. to “urgently” strengthen its monitoring of its academic ties with authoritarian regimes.
The report, led by former Secretary of State for Universities, Research and Innovation Jo Johnson, said that more than a fifth of research in many high-impact science and technology disciplines at British universities involves collaboration with China.
Jo Johnson is the brother of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
According to statistics from the report, which provides the first comprehensive assessment of Sino-British research collaboration, the number of academic papers co-authored by Chinese and British researchers increased from 750 per year in 2000 (1 percent of the total number of UK papers) to 16,267 in 2019 (11 percent of the total).
A draft report seen by the Financial Times says that the rapid growth in joint research and the number of Chinese students studying in the UK has created a “strategic dependence” on Chinese partners, exposing UK universities to “poorly understood” risks These include economic dependence, intellectual property theft and exploitation by China as an economic rival.
Last month, the Institute for Civil Society Studies (Civitas), a British think tank, warned about the growing ties between major British research universities and institutions and the Chinese military. The British government warned that this posed a “significant threat” to British national security, saying it would extend security checks to researchers overseas.
Joe Johnson is the brother of current British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He resigned as secretary of state and a member of the House of Commons of Parliament in September 2019 over his opposition to fellow Conservative Prime Minister Boris’s Brexit proposal, saying he has been torn between Family loyalties and national interests. From late October 2020, Joe Johnson, who was promoted to baronetcy, enters the upper house of parliament as a Conservative.
Joe Johnson is scheduled to participate in a March 11 online seminar at Harvard University’s Kennedy School entitled “China’s Impact on British Universities: The Risks and Rewards. He currently holds part-Time positions at both Harvard University and King’s College London.
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