Ph.D. to PLA: New Investigation Details How Biden-era Visa Failures Led American Taxpayers to Fund Students Linked to China's Military

Today, House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) released a groundbreaking new investigation uncovering how Biden-era visa enforcement failures led to American taxpayers funding Ph.D. programs for Chinese nationals, including those linked to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and China's defense research universities.

"Our investigation makes clear that the Chinese Communist Party is exploiting America’s openness to accelerate its military buildup. U.S. universities are educating and training Chinese students directly tied to China’s defense research and industrial base, and the Biden administration's neglect for common-sense visa policies only further empowered the Chinese Communist Party. This pipeline of knowledge and expertise flows straight into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army. We cannot allow America’s taxpayer-funded research labs and classrooms to serve as staging grounds for Beijing’s military ambitions," said Chairman Moolenaar.

The new report, From Ph.D. to PLA, examined six U.S. universities—University of Maryland, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Southern California, Purdue University, and Stanford University. These universities—public and private, large and small, and geographically diverse—were asked a series of questions regarding the presence and research activities of Chinese national students on their campuses.

During the investigation, the Select Committee found that the Biden Administration failed to enforce President Trump's Executive Order 10043, a ban on Chinese nationals who conduct military-linked research. Specifically, the order suspended the entry of any Chinese national who “either receives funding from or who currently is employed by, studies at, or conducts research at or on behalf of, or has been employed by, studied at, or conducted research at or on behalf of, an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC’s ‘military-civil fusion strategy.”

In its review of just six U.S. universities, the committee identified Chinese graduate students who had previously attended a “Seven Sons of National Defense” university, a group of Chinese universities known for their deep ties to PLA military research and development—and the same group of individuals the order was intended to block.

In addition, the Select Committee’s investigation revealed that thousands of Chinese nationals pursuing doctoral degrees at U.S. universities are being funded—directly or indirectly—by the American taxpayer. The numbers are alarming: one university disclosed that “of these 1,139 [Chinese] graduate staff appointments, it is the case that 515 were paid via sponsored programs from federal, state or private grants or contracts. Of these 515 Chinese students, 402 were paid from federal grants or contracts.” Another university told the Select Committee that the primary source of funding for 1,115 of its 2,580 Chinese graduate students is through an assistantship.

Some universities, such as Purdue University, are taking corrective steps to combat this issue. Purdue has proactively reviewed its policies regarding foreign collaboration and implemented new safeguards to protect U.S. research interests.

Previously, the committee had uncovered numerous troubling partnerships between U.S. universities and Chinese defense entities. Last week's report, Joint Institutes, Divided Loyalties, identified more than a hundred additional risky academic partnerships with Chinese entities and conducted a deep dive on more than fifty that pose a direct risk to U.S. national security. After the investigation, Chairman Moolenaar authored the SAFE Research Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House to stop federal STEM funding from going to universities or researchers that collaborate with China's military and intelligence services. 

Protecting hard-earned U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding China's defense apparatus has remained a priority for the Select Committee. This month, the committee also released Fox in the Henhouse, which reported that more than 1,400 research publications came out of DOD-funded projects with Chinese partners—totaling more than $2.5 billion in taxpayer funding.

Read the report here.