The Scottish universities accept millions from firms linked to China
Some universities accepted money from companies and institutions with ties to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in China, including those which are sanctioned by other countries.
Other universities took funding from institutions and tech firms accused of helping the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy on and target users, spread misinformation and abuse human rights.
The director-general of MI5 last year warned vice-chancellors that China and other states the UK Government views as adversaries are attempting to steal technology from universities that can 'deliver their authoritarian, military and commercial priorities'.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China said The Ferret's research suggests that funding from CCP-linked organisations in Scottish higher education is particularly prevalent. This, it claimed 'should be a matter of deep concern for ministers and the wider Scottish public'.
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However, the Chinese Embassy in London has accused critics and media outlets of 'politicising and stigmatising normal educational exchanges between the two countries'. It has denied the use of subversive tactics abroad and argues that research collaboration with UK universities has 'enhanced mutual understanding'.
The Ferret asked Scotland's universities to disclose funding they received from Chinese organisations between 2020/21 and 2024/25.
Ten universities collectively received at least £39.7 million of funding. Of that, £5.5m came from organisations allegedly linked to the military, human rights abuses or spying, or was used to fund controversial Confucius Institutes. These are CCP-funded educational and cultural programmes on UK campuses which have been accused of monitoring and censoring UK students, and pushing propaganda.
Dundee University refused The Ferret's request while others withheld some information which, they argued, was commercially sensitive. As such, the true total could be higher.
Edinburgh University received more than £11m in research funding from unnamed Chinese organisations but it did not provide further detail. The university said it was not feasible to provide a complete list of possible funding from China.
Some of Edinburgh Napier University's funding, £1.2m, came from unnamed Chinese partners for transnational education programmes.
St Andrews University would only provide funding information for named organisations, rather than any from China.
Military links
SOME universities accepted money from Chinese organisations with military ties.
Strathclyde University received £130,000 in research funding from Wuxi Paike New Materials Technology, which makes metal forgings for the Chinese military.
Strathclyde did not specify when it received the money from the firm, which was sanctioned by the US government in December 2020 due to its military links.
Strathclyde also accepted £22,100 for 'research studentship/knowledge exchange' from the Chinese Academy of Sciences on an undisclosed date. The academy is designated 'medium risk' by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), due to its alleged weapons research. ASPI is a defence think tank founded by the Australian Government.
It has been described as having a hawkish stance on China and has received funding from overseas governments, including the US and UK, as well as the defence industry.
In 2020, a drone submarine developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences was found by an Indonesian fisherman in the South China Sea and thought to be on a possible covert mission by military observers.
The following year, in October 2021, Robert Gordon University (RGU) was given £46,820 by the academy to research spectral imaging – a method of capturing highly detailed images.
An RGU spokesperson said the research collaboration was transferred to the university in 2021 after it appointed a professor from Strathclyde who was working on the project. The collaboration ended in 2023.
In April this year, The Times reported that RGU, Aberdeen and Strathclyde universities were among 23 UK institutions to have signed an agreement with Chinese institutions with alleged military links, despite warnings from MI5.
Surveillance and spying allegations
SOME universities accepted money from tech firms, including those accused of helping the CCP to spy on users, and spread misinformation.
Heriot-Watt University received between £150,000 and £200,000 from tech firm Huawei to research wireless communications hardware between November 2020 and November 2021.
In July 2020, it was announced that Huawei will be banned from UK infrastructure by the end of 2027 over fears it could facilitate spying from China. In 2019, we reported that universities and Police Scotland refused to sever links with the tech giant despite fears their devices may be used to spy for Beijing.
Huawei has previously said it had never been asked by the CCP to spy and 'would categorically refuse to comply'.
In 2022/23, Edinburgh University accepted £127,973 from tech firm, Tencent, to fund a research project called 'serving big machine learning models'. Allegations of mass surveillance and human rights abuses by Tencent were reported years earlier.
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CCP committees within Tencent ensure that the state's 'political goals are pursued', according to a 2020 study from ASPI.
A 2022 report from Human Rights Watch claimed that via its messaging app, WeChat, Tencent 'censors and surveils' users on the CCP's behalf and 'hands over user data to authorities when 'sensitive' information is discovered'.
'There have been numerous reports about people getting harassed, detained, or imprisoned for their private messages on WeChat,' it added.
A 2020 study from the University of Toronto found that WeChat also monitored users outwith China. Tencent has rejected claims that the CCP uses WeChat for spying.
WeChat reportedly spread Russian propaganda and misinformation surrounding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while suppressing posts sympathetic to Kyiv, but Tencent declined to comment on the claims.
In January, the US added Tencent to a list of businesses it claims work with China's military. Tencent has denied the allegations.
Monitoring, restrictions and propaganda
SOME organisations funding Scotland's universities have allegedly policed overseas students and restricted their freedoms. Most of these financial contributions were used to fund Confucius Institutes at Scottish universities.
Confucius Institutes teach Chinese language and culture, but have been accused of monitoring students, spreading state propaganda, censoring topics – such as the independence of Taiwan – and stifling free speech on campuses. China has rejected the allegations.
In 2021, a former Chinese diplomat, who defected to Australia, told The Ferret that China tries to control international students at Scottish universities via student associations.
A 2023 report from the UK Parliament's intelligence and security committee said the institutes were run by Hanban, an arm of China's education ministry ultimately controlled by the CCP's propaganda department. Its institutes must obey CCP law, monitor students overseas and influence their behaviour, the report alleged.
The last UK government U-turned on a bid to ban the institutes, while top Australian universities closed their institutes in April.
Since 2020, Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities have accepted more than £5m, including from Hanban, to fund their Confucius Institutes.
Edinburgh's institute was partly funded by Fudan University, which reportedly omitted the phrase 'freedom of thought' from its charter in 2019.
Aberdeen University accepted £5000 from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) in November 2023 to fund a visiting researcher. Some European universities have paused or ceased co-operation with the CSC, citing threats to academic freedom, research security and the risk of 'industrial espionage'.
Universities 'ignoring evidence of risks'
LUKE de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international alliance of cross-party politicians, said The Ferret's research was 'shocking, but not surprising'.
'The fact that money is still being allowed to flow without being flagged should be a matter of deep concern for ministers and the wider Scottish public,' he claimed.
'The rest of the UK has been slow to address dependencies which are curtailing academic freedoms and assisting the People's Liberation Army, but this evidence suggests that the problem is even more acute in Scotland and needs urgently to be tackled.'
Laura Harth, China in the world director at human rights group Safeguard Defenders, said: 'It remains staggering to see evidence-based institutions consistently ignore the endless amount of evidence on the security, IP theft and foreign interference risks related to co-operation with (CCP) entities.
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'This is the exact opposite of the academic rigour we should expect and an outright denial of their commitment to independent thinking and discovery.
'Universities and other entities that continue to ignore such risks do so at the expense not only of their students and stakeholders, but of our democratic societies as a whole. Such free-riding has to stop.'
The Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary, Miles Briggs, said there was 'good reason' to be wary of university funding with alleged links to spying, human rights abuses, the military and other issues.
'For too long SNP ministers have been complacent about the overexposure of the university sector in Scotland without investigating where funding has come from,' he claimed.
The Ferret contacted the Chinese Embassy which has previously been critical of what it has branded politicised anti-Chinese rhetoric, but we received no response.
Universities ensure 'robust due diligence'
ABERDEEN University said it has 'robust procedures in place to ensure due diligence around international collaboration', including 'mitigations' for 'higher risk partnerships' such as a team to review security issues, and the use of an official 'trusted research' checklist.
A spokesperson added that the university complies with UK regulations including control requirements around the export or transfer in goods, software or technology, including data, information and technical assistance.
Heriot-Watt University said global partnerships were 'vital' to advancing its research and teaching, while also benefitting its students, supporting cultural exchange and contributing to the university's financial sustainability.
The university complies with UK Government international security guidelines and partnerships are 'rigorously assessed' to ensure 'academic freedom and institutional autonomy,' a spokesperson added.
An Edinburgh University spokesperson said all partnerships, 'including donations and research funding, are subject to a rigorous due diligence process'.
A Strathclyde University spokesperson said: 'All of our research is subject to risk assessments, ethical approvals and adherence to UK Government guidelines on national security, export control and the Academic Technology Approval Scheme.'
A spokesperson for RGU said: 'All of RGU's international collaborations are developed with robust due diligence and are aligned with the university's commitment to research excellence.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Universities are autonomous institutions and are expected to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks associated with international partnerships.
'This includes conducting appropriate due diligence before entering into new partnerships, and monitoring existing partnerships to ensure they comply with relevant legal requirements'.
National security is reserved to the UK Government's Home Office, which did not respond to a request to comment. Every organisation in this article was approached for comment, either directly or via the Chinese consulate in Edinburgh and the Chinese embassy in London.
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