CCP on Campus: Moolenaar Demands Universities End Joint Programs Tied to Chinese Tech Theft
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Chairman Moolenaar (R-Mich.) of the Select Committee on China sent letters to seven universities—Dartmouth College; Temple University; University of California, Davis; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Riverside; University of Notre Dame; and University of Tennessee—calling on them to end their joint programs associated with the Chinese Scholarship Council—a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits U.S. institutions and directly supports China's military and scientific growth.
The CCP has a long track record of acquiring U.S. technology through both legal and illegal tactics—including talent recruitment programs, academic partnerships that serve its military, forced tech transfer, espionage, and outright theft.
Shuttering joint programs like these has been a long-term objective of the committee. Last September, Chairman Moolenaar and former Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) of the House Education and Workforce Committee released CCP on the Quad, a landmark report revealing that, over the past decade, hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer-funded research has helped advance China’s military capabilities.
"Unlike other international student programs, the CSC has faced increasing scrutiny and criticism due to concerns over academic freedom, surveillance of students, ideological control, and potential espionage. For example, CSC mandates that sponsored students return to the PRC upon completing their studies and serve the PRC for at least two years," writes Chairman Moolenaar in the letter. "Additionally, CSC requires these sponsored students to submit a report to PRC embassies or consulates every three months, detailing their academic progress, laboratory work, research outputs, and publications. PRC diplomatic missions are tasked to monitor the 'ideological and academic progress' of CSC-sponsored students."
The letters demand information from the universities, including:
- All documents regarding the contractual relationships between the institution and CSC.
- Lists and numerical breakdowns of which Chinese entities CSC-sponsored students came from between May 2020 and May 2025.
- Lists and numerical breakdowns of which Chinese entities CSC-sponsored students went to post-graduation from May 2024-present.
- The number of CSC-funded students that have worked on research funded by the U.S. government.
- A justification of how supporting PRC-talent development in STEM fields, which requires beneficiaries to return and serve in the PRC, advances U.S. interests.
Read the letter to Dartmouth College here.
Read the letter to Temple University here.
Read the letter to the University of California, Davis here.
Read the letter to the University of California, Irvine here.
Read the letter to the University of California, Riverside here.
Read the letter to the University of Notre Dame here.
Read the letter to the University of Tennessee here.