Australian, NZ Universities Produced 6,500 Research Papers With CCP Military-Linked Institutions

New analysis reveals about 6,500 joint research projects have been produced via partnerships between Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked institutions and Australian-New Zealand universities.

The research found 80 Australian organisations have worked with various CCP-linked institutions since 2020 to create 6,000 STEM publications.

While 10 New Zealand organisations have collaborated with CCP-linked groups to create 500 publications.

The report, From Innovation to Weaponisation: How China Exploits the Australian and New Zealand Open Scientific Systems, was compiled by Strider Technologies, a strategic intelligence firm.

It also found the most prolific partnerships were with the so-called “Seven Sons of National Defence”—institutions closely linked to the CCP People’s Liberation Army.

For example, Harbin Institute of Technology, has been accused of being a “very high risk” institution and is a major source of graduates to China’s defence and aerospace industry, it has also been sanctioned by the Trump administration, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Unitracker.

Harbin Institute has collaborated and produced 1,151 publications with Australian organisations and 99 with New Zealand groups, according to Strider.

Another “Son of National Defence” with ties down under is the Beijing Institute of Technology, which has produced 878 publications with Australian groups and 118 New Zealand ones.

Other members of the group with Australia-NZ ties include Beihang University, Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Harbin Engineering University.

While the Strider report does not list specific research collaborations it does explain that much of it involves dual-use technologies—areas of science and engineering with both civilian and military applications.

“Notably, some of this research involves technologies with a high likelihood of direct military utility, which may contribute to [China’s] offensive and defensive capabilities,” it says.

The categories of research in which Australian and New Zealand universities have provided Beijing with assistance include high-tech jamming of battlefield communications; target-tracking techniques for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs); the use of multiple AI agents to control swarms of unmanned drones, as well as other air and missile defence systems; and a method for precise navigation of submarines and unmanned undersea platforms in conditions where they cannot access GPS.

Links Continued Despite Government Warnings

These collaborations are taking place despite the Australian government having established, in 2019, the University Foreign Interference Taskforce and the publication of the Guidelines to Counter Foreign Interference in the Australian University Sector.

In New Zealand, the body representing the country’s eight universities partnered with the government to develop guidance to help universities identify, assess, and manage foreign influence risks in international research engagements.

The Strider report (pdf) says the number of joint publications between PLA-linked institutions and Australian and New Zealand organisations has remained relatively steady since 2020, “despite increased awareness about the threats posed to research security and government initiatives.”

Strider warns that the report’s findings “underscore a pressing and persistent challenge to the integrity and security of the Australian and New Zealand science and technology ecosystems.

“Despite multiple rounds of policy interventions by both governments, research collaboration between Australia- and New Zealand-based organisations and PLA-affiliated research institutes has continued at significant levels.”

“These collaborations … pose strategic risks that extend far beyond academia. They contribute directly and indirectly to the advancement of [Beijing’s] military capabilities and its broader geopolitical ambitions,” the report says.

The Epoch Times contacted the federal education minister and Group of Eight universities group for comment.