Nearly $1 billion in federal research funds have been directed into projects linked to China’s defense labs, a study by the Center for Research Security and Integrity (CRSI) claims.
The study found that nearly 1,800 articles published from January 2019 through July 2025 involved a U.S.-China collaboration. “Of these publications, 313 specifically acknowledge US federal funding,” the study says. “Yet these collaborations represent only a small subset of [People’s Republic of China] entities that comprise its defense [research and development] and industrial base.”
According to CRSI, 45 Chinese defense labs have coauthored research with U.S. entities, including public and private universities, as well as national laboratories operated by the Departments of Energy and Defense. The research amounts to at least $943.5 million in federal dollars, most of which stems from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which accounted for more than 71% of the funds detailed in the report.
“Federal funding agencies and academia have failed to meaningfully safeguard the security and integrity of US research that [National Security Presidential Memorandum-33] has sought to achieve,” the study warns.
The NSPM-33, issued by President Trump during his first administration, directed officials to “strengthen protections of United States Government-supported Research and Development (R&D) against foreign government interference and exploitation.”
“Unfortunately, some foreign governments, including the People’s Republic of China, have not demonstrated a reciprocal dedication to open scientific exchange, and seek to exploit open United States and international research environments to circumvent the costs and risks of conducting research, thereby increasing their economic and military competitiveness at the expense of the United States, its allies, and its partners,” the 2021 memorandum added.
To address the security flaws, CRSI’s report urges the U.S. government to “support the establishment of a new government entity, notionally referred to as the National Research Security, Integrity, and Compliance Center (NRSICC),” which is designed to consolidate government efforts on research security. The government should further incentivize means of protecting research, the study suggests, as well as create policies that impose tangible consequences for entities violating research integrity and ethics.
