US Congress committee chair asks Pentagon to add 120 Chinese institutions to list — South China Morning Post
John Moolenaar, chair of the US House Select Committee on China, asked the Pentagon to add 58 Chinese universities and 62 technology laboratories to the Section 1286 list. South China Morning Post reports that, in a letter to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, he cited these institutions’ ties to China’s defense research and industrial base.
The letter is dated October 1, and the committee released it this week. In a press release dated October 14, the committee said it had identified Chinese research institutions with documented ties, formal agreements, oversight relationships or other substantial contacts with China’s defense sector.
Which institutions are proposed for inclusion
Among the named institutions is Tsinghua University in Beijing. A significant number of the organizations mentioned in the letter operate in artificial intelligence, semiconductor manufacturing and quantum computing.
Moolenaar also called for adding 14 institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which the committee described as key defense partners of the Chinese Communist Party. Separately, he requested the inclusion of 22 foreign talent recruitment programs, the China Scholarship Council and scholars affiliated with it.
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The letter claims that the China Scholarship Council requires scholarship recipients to report their academic progress to Chinese embassies or consulates every three months, as well as to take part in mandatory political and ideological classes abroad.
Beijing’s response
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said Beijing consistently opposes the excessive expansion of the concept of national security and the politicization of scientific, educational and academic exchanges. According to him, restrictions on regular research contacts will ultimately harm the interests of all parties, including US researchers and institutions.
The Section 1286 list was created under the 2019 US National Defense Authorization Act. It covers foreign institutions and talent recruitment programs that pose risks to the US research sector. Previously, it primarily included academies of China’s People’s Liberation Army and institutions directly linked to the defense industry.
