A sweeping new analysis has exposed the scale at which British universities have been drawn into China’s strategic effort to harvest overseas research, with more than 8,000 joint scientific papers linking UK academics to Chinese institutions tied to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The findings — reported by Times UK and detailed in a comprehensive assessment by intelligence firm Strider Technologies — warn that Beijing is “systematically” using academic partnerships to fast-track its own military and technological power.
The report identifies over 5,000 researchers affiliated with UK universities, laboratories and research institutes who have co-authored papers with scientists from more than 50 PLA-linked organisations since 2020. These collaborations span fields central to modern warfare, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, aerospace engineering and advanced materials. Many publications also delve into technologies with unmistakable military relevance: anti-jamming communications, hypersonic flight, missile-tracking algorithms and laser-guided systems.
Several of the Chinese institutions involved are under U.S. sanctions or export controls for aiding Beijing’s weapons development. Among them is the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), a top-tier military research body overseen by China’s Central Military Commission. Nearly 400 of the joint papers identified involve NUDT — an institution Washington has long accused of using foreign research and imported components for nuclear and military simulations.
Strider’s report, which has been shared with the Ministry of Defence, warns that these partnerships may serve as a recruitment pipeline for Chinese defence organisations and risk enabling the transfer of sensitive British expertise. The investigation comes amid heightened concern over foreign interference in academia and follows the introduction of the UK’s National Security Act, which expanded offences relating to covert influence, undeclared foreign ties and the misuse of sensitive research.
Times UK has independently identified joint papers from major UK universities — including Warwick, Manchester and Cranfield — involving researchers at Chinese institutions with known defence links. While there is no suggestion that the collaborations uncovered breach UK law, the report has intensified calls for universities to conduct more rigorous due diligence and to sever ties with institutions that directly support the PLA.
The revelations surface just weeks after Sheffield Hallam University faced backlash for halting research into human rights abuses in China following alleged pressure from Beijing. That incident prompted a counterterrorism referral under the National Security Act and amplified concerns that British universities may be vulnerable to geopolitical pressure and exploitation.
Security officials have been sounding alarms for years. MI5 director-general Sir Ken McCallum has repeatedly briefed university leaders that hostile states — particularly China — are actively targeting British research in fields crucial to defence and intelligence capabilities. Former security minister Tom Tugendhat criticised universities for displaying “remarkable naivety,” arguing that institutions benefiting from taxpayer funding must ensure they are not inadvertently strengthening foreign militaries.
Academic collaboration has long been seen as essential to scientific advancement, and many UK researchers view partnerships with Chinese experts as mutually beneficial. Yet critics point to mounting financial dependence on China. Times UK previously revealed that British universities received more than £240 million from Chinese institutions, including £60 million from organisations sanctioned by the United States. Some analysts warn that tight budgets and shrinking domestic research funding make universities increasingly susceptible to partnerships that carry national-security risks.
Despite clear warnings from security agencies and policymakers, Strider’s analysis shows that collaboration persists at full speed, averaging around 1,500 joint publications each year since 2020. More than 100 UK organisations have contributed to joint STEM research with PLA-linked institutions, including state-owned defence conglomerates and members of China’s so-called “Seven Sons of National Defence” — elite universities deeply embedded in Beijing’s military-industrial complex.
Experts emphasise that the issue is not individual academics but a systemic vulnerability. Strider’s report argues that China strategically targets global centres of excellence to accelerate its own defence modernisation. Eric Levesque, Strider’s co-founder, warned that these collaborations “directly support China’s defence establishment, advancing the PLA at the expense of the UK.”
The paper highlights multiple studies on anti-jamming communication technology, crucial for modern command-and-control networks, as well as several publications on hypersonics — a field dominated by military applications and central to Beijing’s development of next-generation missiles capable of evading Western defences. One such study, published in 2023 and co-authored by a University of Warwick professor, focused on safeguarding satellite communications from jamming attacks. Other papers involve University of Manchester researchers collaborating with scientists at China’s Aerodynamics Research and Development Centre, a key hub for hypersonic missile development.
Universities named in the report have insisted they followed government guidance, secured appropriate clearances and adhered to national-security protocols. Warwick, Manchester and Cranfield all stated that they assess the risks of international partnerships and comply with all legal requirements.
However, lawmakers, security experts and human-rights advocates argue that voluntary compliance is no longer sufficient. Many are now calling for a strict firewall between UK research in sensitive areas and any Chinese institution with even indirect links to the military. As Luke de Pulford of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China put it, “There should be a rock-solid barrier between sensitive UK research and anyone even remotely affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army.”
The government maintains it provides robust support to help universities manage foreign-collaboration risks. But with collaboration levels remaining high, and China’s military modernisation accelerating, pressure is mounting for a decisive reset. The emerging question — underscored by Times UK’s reporting — is whether Britain can continue to champion open academic cooperation while ensuring its research does not strengthen a rival power’s military arsenal.
