Canadian universities are continuing research collaborations with Chinese institutions despite government efforts to impose stronger measures against potential technology transfer to the regime and address related national security concerns, the House of Commons science committee heard.
“I discovered that as recently as a few weeks ago, there have been new patent applications published, listing Huawei as owner, with Canadian university researchers as inventors, including those from the University of Toronto, UBC, Queens, Ottawa, McMaster, and Western,” he said.
Bans
In 2022, the federal government banned Huawei from participating in Canada’s 5G network development over security concerns related to its alleged ties to the Chinese military. Despite Huawei’s denials, China’s national intelligence law compels all entities, including civilians and the private sector, to aid in intelligence collection for the regime.
Geopolitical Competition
Ivana Karaskova, a China research fellow at the Prague-based non-profit Association for International Affairs, pointed out that the European Commission recently unveiled a list of four technology areas with the highest risk of being misused by autocratic regimes and infringing upon human rights. These areas include advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and genetic engineering.While China was not directly named in the document, Ms. Karaskova emphasized during her testimony at the House science committee that this move signifies the European Union’s active engagement rather than passive observation in the geopolitical competition.
“China’s global reach, far-reaching goals, increasingly revisionist agenda, and the nature of its political regime, make it a risk and a challenge like no other,” she said.
“Europe as well as Canada and other like-minded countries would have to ensure that they stay competitive. Especially in the field of emerging technologies, research funding needs to ensure that the most promising activities stay domestic.”
She noted that universities in the Czech Republic began to address the issue of China’s involvement in university research and intellectual property development seriously after a major scandal. This scandal implicated one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious universities, which was found to have received funding from the Chinese Embassy in Prague. The funding supported various activities, including classes related to the Chinese regime’s Belt and Road Initiative and the profiling of students who were later invited to China on fully funded trips. Ms. Karaskova said subsequent to this scandal, the country has initiated steps in the right direction, although progress remains gradual and at an early stage.
