US Funded $1 Billion in Research With Chinese Labs, Report Says

A military parade in Beijing, on Sept. 3. Photographer: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images AsiaPac Photo by Lintao Zhang /Photographer: Lintao Zhang/Getty

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(Bloomberg) — Almost $1 billion in US government funding helped fuel a series of research projects involving defense labs in China in recent years, according to a new study that concludes security policies around such partnerships have failed.

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The study is believed to be the first of its kind to put a dollar figure — $943.5 million — on such collaborations, which critics have cited as examples of the US unwisely aiding its top adversary’s military, and using taxpayer money to do so. The report was published by the nonpartisan Center for Research Security & Integrity, a Virginia-based nonprofit.

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The report doesn’t allege illegal activity. Instead it argues that a big part of the problem is precisely that the US government has not put more limits on research collaboration. 

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For example, because academic research is exempt from export controls, in many cases there’s nothing to stop a professor in the US from working with a defense lab in China — even if Washington has otherwise restricted it from accessing US technology on national-security grounds.

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The analysis documented collaborations with 45 Chinese government-designated defense labs from 2019 through mid-2025. The resulting 313 English-language articles involved topics such as directed energy systems, artificial intelligence and high-performance computational physics.

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“These are critical technology fields that can fundamentally change future military and warfighting capabilities, yet PRC defense laboratories are directly benefiting from this research,” the report said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. 

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The report said the total amount of federal dollars aiding Chinese military research would be higher if it took into account all Chinese labs working on defense, such as those run by provincial governments or state-owned enterprises.

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“The US and many of its key allies have failed to adapt to a contradictory reality: one of the most significant contributors to and participants in the global scientific enterprise is also our greatest adversary and strategic rival,” the report said.

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A Pentagon spokesperson didn’t directly comment on the report’s findings but said the department is taking several measures — including from January — to protect research. Those efforts include barring funding to entities identified as Chinese military companies.

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The National Science Foundation “recognizes the importance of balancing scientific collaboration with national security considerations,” the organization said in a statement. It cited recent policy changes such as an expansion of disclosure requirements for awardees regarding foreign support.

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China’s embassy in Washington said in a statement that researchers from different countries “collaborate on research and publish papers to share their achievements with the world, benefiting all.”

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The study found that Princeton University and the University of Tennessee Knoxville were among Chinese defense labs’ most frequent collaborators. Neither university responded to requests for comment.