A Look at the Chinese Research Groups Ottawa Calls a Threat

The Named Research Organizations list, released by the federal cabinet on Jan. 16, comprises 85 Chinese institutions, including those recognized as the Seven Sons of National Defence due to their close links to the Chinese military apparatus, as well as others allegedly associated with state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China.

In conjunction with the Named Research Organizations list, a separate list of Sensitive Technology Research Areas was also published on Jan. 16. The lists are integral components of the federal government’s new Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern. This policy was introduced with the objective of fortifying Canada’s research security amid growing public concerns about China’s intellectual property theft and foreign interference.

Under the policy, Canadian researchers seeking federal funding must determine if their field falls under the listed “sensitive” technology category, including advanced energy technology, artificial intelligence, aerospace, sensing and surveillance, and biometrics. Projects in these areas won’t receive government funding if any involved researchers are affiliated with or receive funding or in-kind support from institutions linked to military, national defence, or state security entities that pose a risk to Canada’s national security.

Seven Sons of National Defence

The Seven Sons of National Defence refers to the seven universities directly overseen by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This includes Beihang University, the Beijing Institute of Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, and the Northwestern Polytechnical University.

The “China Defence Universities Tracker,” established by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), has designated all of them as posing “very high” security risks due to their close collaborations with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The tool aims to monitor the Chinese regime’s policy of merging the civilian sector with its military apparatus to enhance military power, known as “military–civil fusion.”

In addition to being newly included in Canada’s Named Research Organizations list, these institutions are also listed on the Entity List or the End-User List published by countries like the United States and Japan. These lists place them under trade restrictions or security warnings.

Beihang University

Beihang University, previously known as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, focuses on aviation and spaceflight research. It has actively contributed to the development of Chinese military aircraft and missiles, according to the ASPI. Beihang is listed in both the Japan End-User List and the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List. Additionally, its subsidiary, Beijing Tianhua, was added to the U.S. Entity List, alongside 17 aliases.

In a 2022 report on graduate employment status, the university said roughly 40 percent of its students graduating that year secured positions in a national defence-related industry. The report noted that, in 2022, the top three employers of Beihang graduates were major Chinese state-owned defence companies: China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

Beijing Institute of Technology

The Beijing Institute of Technology is recognized as a top institution in China for weapon science.

The ASPI noted that the university plays a “central role” in advancing PLA war-fighting capability, as demonstrated in its participation in developing equipment used by 22 out of the 30 squads in the 2009 military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

In late 2020, the End-User Review Committee (ERC) added the Beijing Institute of Technology, along with the other two Seven Sons universities—Nanjing University of Science and Technology and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics—to the Entity List. The ERC, comprising representatives from various U.S. federal departments, made this decision in response to the universities’ acquisition and attempted acquisition of U.S.-origin items supporting PLA programs that run against its national security and foreign policy interests.

In 2017, the Chinese Ministry of Education ranked Nanjing University of Science and Technology and Beijing Institute of Technology as China’s top two universities for weapon science. They have maintained these positions for multiple years, according to various open-source information.

Espionage

The ASPI has cited reports of individuals charged with or allegedly involved in espionage activities who are associated with the other four of the Seven Sons universities, namely the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), Harbin Engineering University (HEU), Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), and Northwestern Polytechnical University.

In 2018, the United States arrested a Chinese intelligence officer, Xu Yanjun, who allegedly sought to steal engine technology from GE Aviation, an Ohio-based unit of General Electric Co. An indictment, cited by the ASPI, highlighted the involvement of a deputy director from the NUAA in the case. ASPI stated, “Leveraging its expertise and close involvement with state-owned civil and military aviation companies, NUAA appears to have played a key role in identifying and cultivating overseas targets for the Ministry of State Security.”

Mr. Xu was the first Chinese communist intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States to stand trial. On Nov. 16, 2022, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Harbin Engineering University

Harbin Engineering University, recognized for developing China’s first experimental submarine, ship-based computer, and hovercraft, has close ties with the PLA Navy. In 2001, HEU entered into an agreement with the PLA Navy to provide training for military officers. In 2008, it established a Defense Education Institute, which has since trained up to 1,700 reserve officers, according to the university website.

The ASPI has cited multiple instances of espionage associated with HEU, including a 2018 case where two Chinese businessmen were charged in the United States for conspiring to steal trade secrets related to syntactic foam, a material with various commercial and military applications. Citing a 2016 indictment, the ASPI highlighted that the individuals worked for a company that was “closely tied to HEU in personnel, projects, and money” and was involved in building autonomous underwater vehicles for the university. In February 2020, one of the two businessmen was sentenced to sixteen months in prison.

Harbin Institute of Technology

Similarly, several cases of Chinese espionage activities have been connected to the Harbin Institute of Technology, according to ASPI. The university has connections with Dongfan Chung, a former Boeing engineer convicted in 2010 of economic espionage for China. Mr. Chung had reportedly expressed a desire to contribute to China’s modernization and sent technical materials to HIT, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Northwestern Polytechnical University

Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), devoted to bolstering the Chinese defence science and technology industry, is known for its development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is the only Chinese university hosting a UAV defence laboratory. According to the ASPI, the Chinese military is reportedly the main customer of its subsidiary company, Aisheng Technology Group Co. Ltd., which once claimed to produce 90 percent of the Chinese drones market.

Organ Harvesting

Several universities listed in the Named Research Organizations have reported connections to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forced organ harvesting scheme. Universities implicated in this scheme, which heavily targeted adherents of the spiritual practice known as Falun Gong or Falun Dafa, include Army Medical University, Air Force Medical University, and Navy Medical University.

In a September 2014 telephone investigation, WOIPFG interviewed Bai Shuzhong, who served as the minister of health for the PLA’s General Logistics Department of the CCP between 1998 and 2004. Mr. Bai said that during his tenure, then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin, responsible for launching the persecution against Falun Gong, personally ordered the organ harvesting of practitioners.

In a report dated Dec. 15, 2022, the WOIPFG presented evidence suggesting the involvement of the Army Medical University in organ harvesting, particularly in liver and kidney transplants. One piece of evidence included a phone call between WOIPFG investigators and a doctor at the Department of Urology of Xinqiao Hospital, affiliated with the Army Medical University.

The WOIPFG made similar phone calls to hospitals affiliated with the Air Force Medical University and the Navy Military Medical University. It stated in a June 22, 2023, report that “China’s military and police hospitals are the main perpetrators of the genocide of harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners. Specifically, the hospitals affiliated with the Military Medical Universities are the principal actors of the crime.”