High Country Times

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), and Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Wicker (R-MS) have initiated an investigation into Georgia Tech's partnership with Tianjin University, a Chinese institution that has significant ties to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Georgia Tech, a leading U.S. research university pivotal to America’s technological advancement and economic competitiveness, has been collaborating with Tianjin University for over a decade. This collaboration is particularly concerning given Georgia Tech's Research Institute's mission to solve national security problems in conjunction with the Department of Defense.

The lawmakers have criticized Georgia Tech for using its Department of Defense research institute to fund sensitive research with Tianjin University, which is on a U.S. government blacklist for stealing American technology with military applications. They also expressed concern about the millions of dollars that Georgia Tech accepted from the People's Republic of China (PRC) to support its partnership with the blacklisted university, as well as other PRC funding that the university appears to have failed to report to U.S. officials.

In their letter to Georgia Tech president Ángel Cabrera, Chairwoman Foxx, Chairman Moolenaar, and Ranking Member Wicker write: "Despite Tianjin University’s links to the PLA and its efforts to steal dual-use U.S. trade secrets, Georgia Tech has continued collaborating with the university as it has done since at least 2013. While Georgia Tech is now prohibited from exporting sensitive technologies to Tianjin University due to the Entity List’s prohibitions, it has collaborated with Tianjin University and at least one other PLA-linked entity on developing sensitive technologies."

They further state: "Relatedly, it is not clear that Georgia Tech has fulsomely disclosed its funding for its broader Tianjin University initiatives. The Shenzhen government has allocated at least $250 million for the construction of the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute (GTSI) campus, signifying its importance to the PRC government. However, Georgia Tech does not appear to have reported that funding to the U.S. Department of Education, according to a review of public data."

In order to assess potential damage to American national security through this partnership, the lawmakers are requesting information from Georgia Tech about its relationship with Tianjin University, including details about funding, collaborations, and research partnerships.