Senator Jim Banks (R., Ind.) is putting forward legislation to protect American defense research from the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to steal critical technology.
The Defending Defense Research from CCP Espionage Act, obtained by National Review, would close loopholes currently being exploited by the CCP to gain critical national security technology through deals with universities and high-salary job offers to researchers.
“For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has worked to steal American research and intellectual property to use against us. The Biden administration reversed key Trump-era policies that protected our universities and did little to stop secret research agreements that allowed DoD-funded researchers to sell their expertise to Chinese institutions,” Banks said in a statement to NR.
“My bill will strengthen protections and close security gaps to safeguard critical U.S. defense research.”
Bank’s bill will prohibit the Department of Defense from funding institutions of higher education that have a contract with foreign entities controlled by China, Russia, and other U.S. adversaries without obtaining a waiver.
The waiver process in Banks’s proposal allows the agreements and Pentagon funding to stand as long as the institution discloses the entire text of its agreement and makes the waiver information publicly available.
Moreover, Banks’s legislation will prevent project leads on emerging technology research projects from joining foreign entities of concern for the next decade after the research project ends.
In a report released last year, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party determined that China acquired advanced military technology through collaborations between U.S. institutions of higher education and Chinese institutions.
“The PRC also exploits America’s cutting-edge research ecosystem by fostering collaborations between PRC universities and American research institutions to acquire dual-use, critical, and emerging technologies. Chinese officials have openly acknowledged that such partnerships give the PRC access to a ‘treasure trove of technological talent’ ripe for its taking,” the report asserts, citing an archived Chinese government webpage.
A China hawk and Afghanistan veteran, Banks worked on the House China committee as a congressman before being elected to the Senate last year.
The China committee’s report details multiple cases of China exploiting these research institute collaborations and China’s methods for developing close relationships with accomplished, federally funded academics. The report also includes data on Pentagon-funded research publications co-authored with individuals affiliated with Chinese institutions over the past ten years.
All of these activities go towards the CCP’s goal of redirecting civilian research into military capabilities to make the People’s Liberation Army into a world class military.