Faux Amis: How France Stands Apart in Europe’s High-Risk University Cyber Partnerships with China
France hosts the EU’s densest cluster of cyber partnerships with Chinese defense-linked universities, raising exposure to dual-use knowledge transfer, EU funding access, and institutional influence
In September 2025, Intelligence Online reported that France’s National Institute of Applied Sciences (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, INSA) network of engineering schools had cancelled plans to establish a joint institute in Beijing with Beihang University (北京航空航天大学). The project had received initial clearance from relevant French ministries. Yet internal opposition within several INSA boards ultimately led to its cancellation just weeks before launch. According to the report, concerns centered on academic freedom and “the nature” of Beihang itself, which has been identified by a range of governments, research bodies, and policy institutions as closely integrated into China’s defense research system and linked to the People’s Liberation Army.
The episode reflects growing awareness in parts of the European Union (EU) about the strategic implications of university partnerships with Chinese institutions embedded in the country’s defense research system. However, it remains an isolated institutional reversal, with similar collaborations persisting in a number of countries. In December 2025, Beihang itself claimed to have “elevated European cooperation to new heights.”
Over the past decade, university cooperation between some EU member states and China has expanded rapidly across several fields. Many of these exchanges generate legitimate academic and economic benefits. However, some partner institutions are not simply civilian universities.1 They are formally authorized to conduct classified weapons equipment research and are structurally embedded in China’s military and defense industrial system, raising concerns about dual-use knowledge transfer – research with both civilian and military applications – access to EU funding streams, and long-term institutional exposure and influence aligned with defense research agendas.2
Cyber-related disciplines are particularly sensitive. Fields such as software engineering, telecommunications, computer science, and information security cultivate inherently dual-use skills. These capabilities support civilian digital infrastructure and defensive cybersecurity, but also enable cyber espionage – including intellectual property theft – offensive cyber operations, and applications such as secure military communications and strategic command systems. Such capabilities can be deployed remotely in both peacetime and conflict.
Within this landscape, France stands out. Among EU member states, it has the highest concentration of cyber partnerships involving Chinese institutions that hold state secrecy clearance or maintain formal ties to China’s defense establishment. This piece maps EU–China cyber-related joint degree partnerships, identifies institutional risk factors including security clearance status and defense affiliation, and examines the French case in depth. Beihang University’s School of Cyber Science and Technology serves as a central case study, including analysis of its state and defense industry ties and a review of research activities and affiliations of nearly 80 faculty members.
The Appendix identifies EU–China cyber-related partnerships and their disciplinary focus, highlights relevant risk factors, and explains the methodology used to assess institutional affiliations and involvement in classified research.
