The University of Michigan has decided to terminate its joint institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). This decision follows a letter from John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, addressed to U-M President Santa Ono. The letter highlighted connections between SJTU and the military modernization efforts of the Chinese Communist Party.
Moolenaar stated, "The University of Michigan is making the right decision in ending its joint institute with a Chinese university, and more of our nation’s universities should follow U-M’s action." He expressed concerns about American universities collaborating with CCP researchers on critical technologies such as weapons, artificial intelligence, and nuclear physics. According to Moolenaar, these collaborations could potentially be used against the United States. He emphasized that SJTU was involved in aiding China's military modernization and noted that five students from China through this partnership were caught spying on Camp Grayling.
In October, Moolenaar sent a letter to Ono after five Chinese nationals were charged in federal court in Detroit for lying to investigators following their trespassing at Camp Grayling, a military installation in Michigan. These individuals had come from China as part of the joint institute partnership between U-M and SJTU. A similar incident occurred in 2020 when two Chinese nationals attending U-M were arrested for espionage at a military site in Key West.
Moolenaar's letter outlined how SJTU plays a significant role for the CCP by contributing to China's sensitive defense programs through military-academic integration. It also mentioned various talent recruitment programs operating at the Joint Institute that require allegiance to the CCP.
U-M is now the third American university within five months to end such partnerships due to national security concerns raised by the Committee. Previously, Georgia Tech announced it would close its Georgia Tech Shenzhen Joint Institute, and UC Berkeley began shutting down its partnership with Tsinghua University.
A report titled “CCP on the Quad,” released last September by the Select Committee on the CCP, identified 21 American universities with STEM-focused joint institutes linked to Chinese universities. The report raised issues about Department of Defense-funded research potentially advancing China's national security capabilities in areas like high-performance explosives and quantum technology.
