Reports
From Innovation to Weaponisation: How China Exploits the UK Open Scientific System
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is executing a state-driven strategy to achieve global leadership in science and technology (S&T). Government plans set out tactics for achieving that goal, including leveraging international collaborations and recruiting foreign talent. While many PRC organisations are tasked with implementing those tactics, research institutes affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pose the most significant risks to UK national security and to the UK S&T ecosystem.
A new report from Strider details how the PRC is leveraging unsuspecting UK institutions to execute a coordinated strategy to dominate the global science and technology race. From Innovation to Weaponisation uncovers more than 8,000 joint publications from more than 5,000 UK researchers in collaboration with researchers from PLA-affiliated organizations—spanning PRC military branches, PLA research bodies, state-owned defence conglomerates, and the “Seven Sons of National Defence” universities.
Key findings:
- There have been more than 8,000 joint publications and collaborations between researchers affiliated with UK organizations and researchers affiliated with People's Liberation Army-linked research institutes (PLA-RI) on STEM topics since 2020.
- Topics of collaboration include strategic dual-use technologies like AI, quantum computing, and aerospace, as well as technology with a high likelihood of military applications such as anti-jamming communications, hypersonic vehicles, and directed energy.
- Nearly 400 papers were co-authored with a Chinese military university sanctioned by the U.S. for national security risks.
Read the full report here.
