Cooperation with Chinese universities could be a risk: Education Min.

Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf of Education, Culture, and Science is concerned about collaborations between Dutch universities and Chinese universities that work for the army. It is a subject that concerns him, he said on Wednesday morning in response to an investigation by Follow the Money and others.

The research platform reported that Dutch universities conducted at least 400 studies with a possible military application in collaboration with Chinese universities labeled "high-risk." The Chinese universities got this label because they have links with the Chinese armed forces. The studies were into things like artificial intelligence, robotics, and other technologies that may not have been possible in the past but can now be applied in the military.

Dijkgraaf said he has been working on the subject for some time. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry opened a Knowledge Security desk for universities and companies. Anyone who works at a knowledge institution can go there for advice on international collaborations. "In the Netherlands, the idea first prevailed: the more international research, the better," said Dijkgraaf. "But now we are increasingly aware of the downside."

"Thirty years ago, topics about artificial intelligence and genetics were purely theoretical knowledge. Now it can sometimes be applied. That is not limited to the military domain," said Dijkgraaf. "It is important that everyone who works in a knowledge institute is aware of that."

This awareness has been rising for some time, said a spokesperson for TU Delft. Since 2015, the university has conducted studies in all the categories Follow the Money mentioned - from robotics to aerospace and shipbuilding - in collaboration with high-risk Chines universities. "Since 2019, we have been developing more and more policies in this area," said the spokesperson. "That takes time. Many studies take a long time. So collaboration often started about five years before publication."

TU Delft scientists can now use various tools to monitor their collaborations, such as a tracker, which also lists civilian Chinese universities, so that employees can check whether an institution has links with the armed forces.