More than a fifth of British university research in many high impact science and technology subjects involves collaboration with China, according to a study that urges the UK to “urgently” improve its monitoring of academic links with an authoritarian regime.
The report, led by former universities minister Jo Johnson, is the first comprehensive assessment of Sino-British research collaboration, counting the number of papers co-authored by academics in both countries.
A draft copy seen by the Financial Times, said a rapid growth in joint research and Chinese student numbers had created a “strategic dependency” on Chinese partnerships, exposing British universities to “poorly understood” risks, including financial dependency, intellectual property theft and exploitation by an economic rival.