Written by Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Congressional committee on China has asked Georgia Tech, a leading research university, to provide details about its collaboration with Chinese universities that face U.S. government restrictions over suspected ties to the country’s military. Asked.
Georgia Tech is partnering with Tianjin University in northeastern China on cutting-edge technology despite documented ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), a new House Select Committee on China says. Republican Party Chairman John Moolener said in a letter Thursday. Angel Cabrera, a school principal in the United States.
But the Georgia Tech scientists who led the project say all results are publicly available, have passed extensive legal review, and only funding from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has been received. He defended the study, saying it was only a partial report. , has received significant support from the Department of Defense.
The letter notes that in 2020, Tianjin University and a number of affiliated companies were added to the Department of Commerce’s export restriction list for conduct contrary to U.S. national security, including theft of trade secrets and collaborating on research to advance the Chinese military. He pointed out.
“Georgia Tech is currently prohibited from exporting sensitive technology to Tianjin University due to the Entity List prohibition, but it is working with Tianjin University and at least other PLA-affiliated organizations on the development of sensitive technology. “There are,” Moolenaar said.
The Tianjin Research Center is affiliated with a Chinese company, and a subsidiary supplies the People’s Liberation Army, the letter said.
In a January press release from Georgia Tech, researchers at the school based in Atlanta and the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems have created the world’s first functional semiconductor made from the nanomaterial graphene. The company announced that this could lead to a “paradigm shift” in the electronics field. and achieve faster computing.
The United States and China are in the midst of a bitter geopolitical and scientific rivalry, with both viewing semiconductors as a strategic industry with civilian and military applications such as quantum computing and advanced weapons systems.
A spokesperson for Georgia Tech welcomed the Congressional investigation, but said GTRI “does not have any collaboration or research partnership with Tianjin University, nor does it provide funding.”
“We continue to monitor developments in the China-U.S. relationship and have put in place additional steps and protocols to ensure security and maintain vigilance,” Spokeswoman Abigail Tampey told Reuters in an email. “
Researchers have acknowledged financial support from GTRI in their published papers, and GTRI counts GTRI as a customer for more than 90% of their 2023 research, according to the latest annual report.
Moolenaar said the collaboration between Georgia Tech and Tianjin University raised questions about compliance with the Entity List and called on Cabrera to fully disclose all of the joint research.
GTRI, Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems, and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Walter de Heer, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology who led the program, told Reuters that he received funding from GTRI for “non-exclusive” research related to the collaboration, including replicating samples made in Tianjin. Only one student, an Atlanta-based student, said he received an award.
He said the deterioration in U.S.-China relations has derailed fruitful scientific efforts with Chinese researchers. He said the research is still about 10 years away from being viable, and despite the promise, he has not been able to secure U.S. government or private sector funding for follow-on research.
“Everything I do is public domain and open source,” De Heer said.
The letter marks one of Moolenaar’s first actions as chair of the bipartisan committee, which he took over in April after former Rep. Mike Gallagher left Congress. None of the committee’s Democrats signed the letter.
The U.S. Department of Justice under the Biden administration has ended a Trump-era program called the China Initiative aimed at combating Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft, but critics say the plan is They argued that it promoted racial profiling against Asian Americans and chilled scientific research.
Still, U.S. government agencies and Congress are concerned that the Chinese government is taking advantage of the open, federally funded research environment in the United States to circumvent export controls and other national security laws, and It is increasing scrutiny of China’s state-led influence and technology transfers.
Various Congressional bodies have added stricter China-related measures to the Higher Education Act of 1965, which requires U.S. universities receiving federal funding to disclose foreign ownership, control, gifts, and contracts. It is recommended that it be added.
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Alistair Bell)
