EXCLUSIVE — Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers warned of a wider danger of Chinese students in U.S. research institutions after two cases of Chinese students bringing deadly pathogens into the country were uncovered.

In a Tuesday interview with the Washington Examiner, Rogers cited his experience as the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee to warn of a long-running issue with Beijing finding ways to undermine the United States.

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“We’ve watched China get more aggressive and more aggressive and more aggressive over time, and if there’s a loophole, they’re going to find it, they’re going to take advantage of it,” Rogers said.

Recently, U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. charged Chinese citizens and Michigan University researchers Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements, and visa fraud, the Department of Justice announced. The duo smuggled Fusarium graminearum, a fungus the DOJ notes is classified by scientific literature as a “potential agroterrorism weapon.” Rogers warned that the pathogen had the potential to harm more than just the crops themselves.

“My concern is with the pathogens that they brought in could be devastating not only to the crops themselves but certainly our economy and certainly the health of Americans and given their behavior in the past of wanting to hurt the U.S. economy. This is pretty troubling,” he said.

Rogers said the introduction of pathogens into the U.S., while part of a long-running issue with Chinese aggression, represents a significant escalation since his term as head of the House Intelligence Committee from 2011 to 2015.

“What we did see then is stealing agricultural products and taking them back for reengineering,” he said, such as pest-resistant seeds. “We saw their development of bio and chemical weapons systems.”

Jian and Liu are likely only the tip of the iceberg, according to Rogers, citing intercepted messages between the two in which it was implied one had smuggled pathogens into the U.S. before.

To prevent Chinese espionage against U.S. universities and research, including “unprecedented” intellectual property theft, Rogers said the U.S. should reevaluate the way it views and screens international students involved in research from China and other countries of concern.

“We weren’t as open during the Soviet Union’s time. We wouldn’t let Russian scientists come here and have access to our sensitive material. We’re going to have to recalibrate on that. So I would really look at countries of concern. You can, you could start doing categories of people who might be a risk to the health and safety and security of the United States,” he said.

The Senate hopeful expressed worry about how “nonchalant” universities are about students with direct ties to Beijing, saying he would pursue legislation aimed at tightening restrictions for Chinese students in sensitive areas of research.

‘AGROTERRORISM’ FUNGUS WAS FIRST SMUGGLED INTO US IN 2022 INSIDE CHINESE NATIONAL’S BOOTS

“We’ve had our clocks cleaned by theft. So I’d certainly entertain a bill that would make it much harder for them to get into the position where they had access to that material and had the ability to take that material and get it back to China. I would definitely take a look at that,” Rogers said.

“I just think we have to have kind of a rethinking on who we are letting have access in these very sensitive research areas in the United States,” he added.