Germany warns of rising risk of 'scientific espionage' among Chinese students

"China is becoming more and more competitive and a systemic rival in the field of science and research," German Education and Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger said in an interview published by the newspaper Mediengruppe Bayern on July 29, according to AFP.

Ms Stark-Watzinger praised the recent decision by Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) in the German state of Bavaria, which regularly collaborates with German industry on research projects, to no longer accept Chinese students whose sole source of funding comes from the China Scholarship Council (CSC), a government agency.

German Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger (center)

According to recent reports in Deutsche Welle and investigative platform Correctiv, CSC scholarship recipients must sign a loyalty pledge to the Chinese state or face legal trouble.

According to Minister Stark-Watzinger, FAU's decision was motivated by "the realization that the freedom of opinion and freedom of science enshrined in the German Basic Law cannot be fully exercised by CSC scholarship recipients due to the conditions of such scholarships, and in addition, the risk of scientific espionage is also increasing".

“FAU's decision will prompt other institutions to reconsider their terms of engagement with CSC,” she said.

China did not immediately comment on Ms. Stark-Watzinger's statement.

In mid-July, Germany published a 64-page strategy for dealing with a “more assertive” China, angering Beijing. The document, which covers security policy as well as economic and scientific cooperation, is the product of months of debate within the German government over its strategy toward China.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on social media on July 27 that Berlin was "responding to a changed and more assertive China." Accordingly, his government wants to reduce economic dependence on Beijing in important areas.

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