The research association Correctiv lists a whole range of scientific partnerships between Germany and China. But while German institutes primarily see a civilian benefit in the projects, a military approach is also being pursued on the Chinese side.
China apparently uses the knowledge from joint research with German universities to upgrade its military. This suggests research by eleven European media, including the research association Correctiv and Deutsche Welle. Accordingly, German universities cooperate with military universities in the People’s Republic.
According to the media houses, journalists have evaluated more than 350,000 scientific papers published since 2000. They came across 3,000 cases of cooperation with military universities in China, 349 of which involved German universities. This also includes papers with so-called “dual use”, i.e. with results that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. According to the report, at least 48 universities are involved in projects where there is a risk of proximity to the military on the Chinese side. Among other things, the universities of Bonn and Stuttgart are working together with the Chinese National University of Defense Technology in the metropolis of Changsha.
According to the results of the research, some of the researchers and universities in Germany deliberately ignore the possible military benefits of cooperation with Chinese institutions in this country. The report quotes the universities of Bonn and Stuttgart as saying that there is no risk of “dual use” of the German-Chinese research results.
According to the report, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) insisted on the independence of the universities at the request of the media involved and replied that it was limited to “raising awareness”. State Secretary Jens Brandenburg replied that the increasing restrictions on research freedom in China were being observed “with great concern”, especially with regard to use for military purposes.
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