The Guardian has reported that Imperial College London will shut down two major research centres sponsored by Chinese aerospace and defence companies. The decision comes amid a crackdown on academic collaborations with China.
The Avic Centre for Structural Design and Manufacturing is one such partnership with China’s leading civilian and military aviation supplier. It has provided more than £6m (over $7 million) to research cutting-edge aerospace materials. The second centre is run jointly with Biam, a subsidiary of another state-owned aerospace and defence company, The Guardian said. It has contributed £4.5m (over $5 million) for projects on high-performance batteries, jet engine components and impact-resistant aircraft windshields.
While both these centres aim to advance civilian aerospace technologies, critics have repeatedly warned that the research could also advance China’s military ambitions. Two license applications have been rejected by the government’s Export Control Join Unit (ECJU), a body responsible for overseeing how sensitive research is shared with foreign partners. Following this, the two centres will be shut down by year end.
“The government has made it clear to universities that there is an overall shift in the weather such that these collaborations are no longer possible,” Sam Armstrong, director of communications at the Henry Jackson Society thinktank, told The Guardian.
Imperial College and Manchester accepted huge funds from state-owned companies that supply the Chinese military with fighter jets, surveillance software and missiles when the centres started in 2012. But ever since relations between the West and China have deteriorated, there has been a crackdown on academic partnerships involving “dual-use” technologies that are normally meant for civilian uses, but can also be harnessed for military applications.
(With inputs from agencies)
