Brussels weighs banning China from major EU research scheme

"The European Commission is preparing to block Chinese institutions from significant portions of its €95.5 billion ($110 billion) Horizon Europe research program, citing intellectual property risks and links between Chinese universities and Beijing's military. A draft document for the Horizon Europe "main" work program for 2026/2027 proposes excluding Chinese entities from three of the six research areas: civil security and society; health; and digital, industry and space technologies. The proposals have not yet been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission, although they are clearly being considered."

""In view of the persistent lack of progress in the discussions on the Roadmap and the substantive concerns in relation to the undesired transfer of IP to China supported by both legislative and policy initiatives, cooperation involving entities established in China needs to be calibrated accordingly," it states."

"The restrictions respond to lack of progress on an EU-China cooperation roadmap established at the 2019 Innovation Cooperation Dialogue. The Commission points to persistent concerns about protecting trade secrets and potential transfer of knowledge to China's military, which it says are "supported rather than deterred" by Beijing's policies. The document specifically cites China's civil-military fusion strategy and related measures aimed at strengthening China's technological capabilities in both civilian and military domains. Universities linked to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be barred from all program participation, given Horizon Europe's mandate that research must have exclusively civil applications."

The European Commission plans to block Chinese institutions from major parts of the €95.5 billion Horizon Europe program due to intellectual property risks and links between some Chinese universities and the military. A draft 2026/2027 work program would exclude Chinese entities from the civil security and society; health; and digital, industry and space technologies areas. The measures follow stalled progress on the 2019 EU-China cooperation Roadmap and concerns that trade secrets and technology transfers could bolster China's military under civil-military fusion policies. Universities tied to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be barred to ensure exclusively civil research and protect the EU's technological edge.

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