EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A new report from Strategy Risks alleges that Michigan State University (MSU) has cultivated extensive ties with Chinese institutions, bringing questions about foreign influence on American campuses to center stage.
Strategy Risks, a market research firm, pointed to MSU’s collaboration with the Communication University of China (CUC) and its partnership with Shanghai Normal University (SNU).
According to its website, CUC “has trained a large number of outstanding media talents needed by the [Chinese Communist] Party and the country, who are capable of facing future media challenges and excelling on the international stage.” It adds that CUC “has made significant contributions to the Party and the country’s media industry as well as economic and social development.”
SNU highlights similar attributes, including “a series of key national science and social science labs as well as research centers” and “a collection of over 3 million books.”
MSU’s dual-degree program
The concern centers on a dual-degree master’s program between MSU and CUC. While Strategy Risks is not accusing MSU of knowingly supporting Chinese propaganda, it points to broader concerns involving American universities: Are schools adequately assessing the institutional risks posed by foreign academic partners? How do civilian education, politics, and national security overlap?
According to the report, “MSU and CUC jointly operate a dual degree master’s program in international digital advertising, with study requirements in both China and the U.S. formalized through agreements signed in November 2019. Under the agreement, MSU and CUC jointly develop the curriculum, with MSU responsible for delivering the courses.”
MSU is a taxpayer-funded university with 41,000 undergraduate students and more than 10,000 students enrolled in graduate-level programs.
Research-security concerns
In an interview with Just the News, Strategy Risks CEO Isaac Stone Fish said, “We found no evidence that MSU knowingly transferred expertise to the Chinese military, but the institutional pathways are there.”
He added, “The U.S. government needs to broaden its approach to research security and require universities to conduct much deeper due diligence on foreign partners—not just on what a collaboration is studying, but on who the partner works with, how it is governed, and where that knowledge can ultimately flow.”
Michigan’s other connections to China
Michigan’s ties to China have drawn scrutiny in recent years. The University of Michigan faced backlash after several Chinese students allegedly attempted to smuggle biological material into the United States, including a crop-damaging fungus.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also faced criticism for offering tax incentives to companies seeking to establish electric-vehicle battery plants in Big Rapids and Marshall. The Gotion and CATL projects are now defunct.
