Republican lawmakers want three more Michigan colleges to sever ties with Chinese universities, citing concerns over national security and taxpayer-funded research being divulged to the Chinese military.

Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University and the University of Detroit Mercy are being urged to end their schools’ partnerships with several Chinese universities. The congressional pressure was prompted in part by an alarming report that found American university research aids the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Lenawee County, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee outlined their concerns in a letter sent Monday to the universities’ presidents, The Detroit News reported.

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“The research at your university is funded by the American people and must be protected,” the lawmakers wrote in letters sent to the EMU, OU and UDM.

This follows University of Michigan’s recent decision to end its partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, terminating a two-decade academic collaboration between the two institutions.

A recent investigation by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raised concerned over national security. In particular, Republican lawmakers uncovered millions of dollars in U.S. federal research funding has benefited the People’s Republic of China’s defense and security capabilities.

“Through nearly 9,000 joint research publications, funded by the Department of Defense or the Intelligence Community, the lawmakers discovered that Americans worked with Chinese researchers on strategic technology research, much of which has military applications,” according to the report.

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The federal funding helped the PRC achieve advancements in fourth- generation nuclear weapons technology, artificial intelligence, advanced lasers, graphene semiconductors, and robotics, the report found.

The letter to EMU asked for severing relations with Beibu Gulf University and Guangxi University through the Joint Engineering Program and the Information Security Joint Program in China.

EMU officials said they are reviewing the lawmakers’ concerns.

“In establishing these articulation agreements, EMU complies with all federal laws including those related to information and technology transfer,” Melissa Thrasher, EMU spokesperson, told The Detroit News. “We are carefully evaluating the concerns presented and will respond to them in the immediate future.”

After a September report from the House committee, Moolenaar sent a letter to UM President Santa Ono, suggesting that UM’s partnership with SJTU had been compromised.

Moolenaar also cited concerns over an incident involving five Chinese nationals, who were University of Michigan students in the joint program when they were discovered outside of Camp Grayling in August 2023. US authorities charged the five Chinese nationals with lying and trying to cover their tracks in October 2024.

Ono said the decision followed discussions with lawmakers and UM stakeholders, noting “As we do so, we must also prioritize our commitment to national security.”

At University of Detroit Mercy, the lawmakers told President Donald Taylor they were concerned about joint educational programs at four Chinese institutions including Hubei University of Technology, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and Anhui Polytechnic University as well as the Detroit Green Technology Institute in China.

A university spokesperson told The Detroit News that Taylor has asked UDM’s senior leadership team to review the collaborations with the four Chinese Universities.

“Soon we will notify both Rep. Moolenaar, Rep. Walberg, and their staffs about UDM plans for its partnerships with Chinese institutions,” Taylor said.