30 US Universities under scrutiny over ties with China, Russia & Iran

China on Tuesday lashed out at Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s directive to two universities to terminate their collaboration with two Chinese institutions over national security concerns, saying that it restricts normal cooperation on education and research. China opposes abusing the concept of national security to restrict and go after normal international cooperation on education and research, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jiang.He was responding to reports from Australia that Penny Wong instructed the Australian National University and the University of Queensland to terminate their collaboration with Shandong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, respectively.
Meanwhile,Pentagon orders 30 US universities to scrutinise ties with Chinese research partners. Institutions have two weeks to audit foreign collaborations and could be required to terminate partnerships to preserve federal funding. The Department of Defence announced that the unnamed universities must review their academic, financial, and research ties with foreign “entities of concern” to determine whether export-controlled or sensitive research has been compromised. Institutions have until August 31—a tight two-week deadline—to report their findings and propose mitigation measures, including the termination of problematic partnerships.  They(Universities) must examine partnerships with entities in China, Russia, and Iran considered potentially problematic for national security, and determine whether sensitive or export‑controlled information has been shared.
The directive follows the Pentagon’s July expansion of its Section 1286 list to 130 foreign entities across China, Russia, and Iran, which included 88 mainland Chinese institutions spanning prestigious civilian universities like Fudan and Shanghai Jiao Tong alongside dedicated military academies. Under Pentagon guidelines, federal funding is generally prohibited for fundamental research linked to listed entities, marking a major escalation from advisory warnings to mandatory reviews and potential contract cancellations.
The announcement closely follows a House report alleging that Harvard University failed to properly scrutinize partnerships with Chinese institutions linked to the People’s Liberation Army, though officials have not confirmed whether Harvard is among the 30 audited universities. The Pentagon stated the audits will help counter evolving adversarial tactics and safeguard America's technological edge, even as critics warn that broadening restrictions risks chilling legitimate global scientific cooperation.