Lawmaker calls for US research funding curbs on more Chinese schools

A Republican ​lawmaker has called on the Defense ​Department to put US ‌research funding restrictions ​on dozens more Chinese universities, including one with ties to top American business leaders.

Representative from Michigan John ‌Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, this month asked the department to add 58 more Chinese schools and 62 Chinese technology labs to what is ‌known as the 1286 list, according to a copy of the letter ‌seen by Reuters. Several of the Chinese labs and schools focus on areas such as semiconductors, AI and quantum computing, the letter said.

The Defense Department, which President Donald Trump calls the War ⁠Department, ​is barred from ⁠providing research funding to any entity that works with Chinese universities on the list. It calls collaboration ⁠with listed schools "a compliance risk" that puts US federal funding at risk. The department in ​August said it would investigate 30 US schools around whether they collaborate ⁠with Chinese institutions on the 1286 list.

Among the schools Moolenaar asked the Defense Department to include is ⁠Tsinghua ​University, a top Chinese school that has educated many of the country's business and political elite. Some US business leaders, including the chief executives ⁠of Nvidia, Apple and Advanced Micro Devices , serve on the advisory board at Tsinghua's ⁠business school, postings ⁠that aremeant to foster ties between US and Chinese companies.

Nvidia declined to comment, and Tsinghua, Apple and AMD did not respond ‌to a ‌request for comment.