Last week, an investigation by some ten-odd European medias revealed how European researchers has published nearly 3,000 scientific publications together with researchers linked to the Chinese military – most notably with the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), whose outspoken ambition is to increase the capacity of the People’s Liberation Army.
The week’s cartoon by Niklas ”@Kludd-Niklas” Eriksson shows a Chinese war machine with credentials from European universities, ready to take on NATO and the US with its enhanced technologies.
The NUTD is run by the Chinese Communist Party and plays a crucial role in military research in areas such as hypersonic weapons, quantum supercomputers and artificial intelligence. ”Excel in Virtue and Knowledge; Strengthen the Armed Forces and the Nation”, is the motto displayed at its campus in the central Chinese city of Changsha.
European researchers often lack knowledge about the NUTD, and seldom come across the thought that research together with military-affiliated Chinese researchers will actually strengthen the Chinese military’s capabilities.
The research project by the European medias – led by a Dutch outlet and a German investigative nonprofit – is named China Science Investigation. It found that the cooperation in effect constitutes a transfer of knowledge from European scientists to the Chinese military.
In many cases, the Chinese military-affiliated researchers welcomed to cash-strapped European institutes and research groups are funded by government scholarships; a cheap price tag to provide the PLA with state of art warfare technology.
One of the involved medias, Deutsche Welle, has published a video explaining the topic:
For Swedish readers it should be noted that no Swedish media has been taking part in this project, despite the fact Sweden is overrepresented regarding the number or researchers that has been cooperating with Chinese military-affiliated counterparts.
Danish daily Politiken is filling the Scandinavian void, also focusing on how NATO is expressing concern over the fact that European researchers are actively assisting a potential adversary with cutting-edge military technology:
Militærforskere fra Folkets Befrielseshær i Kina har indledt tusindvis af samarbejder med civile forskere i Europa, selv om det kan true Europas og NATO-alliancens sikkerhed. NATO er bekymret. Læs #ChinaScienceInvestigation med @FTM_nl @correctiv_org mfl.https://t.co/VHOsQzYmV3
— Sebastian Kjeldtoft (@SKjeldtoft) May 19, 2022
This week’s cartoon can be viewed in full size via this link.
A full collection of Kludd-Niklas’ works for Kinamedia can be seen here.
