From Welcome to Unwanted: Academic Cooperation as a Security Risk

Academic cooperation and student exchange between the Netherlands and China are under pressure. Optimism about the seemingly limitless possibilities for academic cooperation and the large supply of smart, hard-working and self-paying students and researchers has turned to concerns about espionage, influence and distrust about the true intentions of Chinese counterparts. Research collaborations are suspended, Chinese researchers with Chinese grants are less welcome, the number of Chinese students enrolled in Dutch universities has dropped for the first time in 12 years, and the already limited trickle of Dutch students to China has all but dried up.

A Worrying Development

This is a worrying development on multiple levels. Scientific collaboration is no longer a one-way street in which “we provide and they receive.” China now leads the way in the development of many crucial technologies. For our scientists, it is important to collaborate with the best in their field, if only to stay informed about the latest developments and avoid falling behind.

Less collaboration also means less contact between young researchers and students, and that means less exchange of ideas and perspectives, which in turn leads to more misunderstanding and mistrust. A new generation is growing up in the Netherlands with little or no affinity with China, precisely at a time when we need more knowledge of China in order to shape that crucial relationship in the future.

And perhaps even more importantly, solutions to today’s major global challenges – such as climate and energy, disease control and healthcare, food supply and security, peace and safety, and trade and economic development – stand little chance of success if the interests and intellectual contributions of 1.4 billion Chinese are not taken into account.

Personal Involvement

This downward spiral affects me personally, as I have spent my entire working life trying to contribute – in my own small way – to improving academic cooperation and student mobility, in both directions.

Under the cultural exchange agreement between the Netherlands and China, I arrived in Beijing in September 1990 as a freshly graduated historian and not-quite-yet sinologist. I was part of a group of 22 Dutch students, while an equally sized group of Chinese students came to the Netherlands for a year. Since then, I’ve remained in China. First as assistant to the Dutch cultural attaché at the embassy. A decade later, in 2001, I took charge of the new Nuffic office in Beijing.

From Informal Dress to Sharp Suits

Over the course of that decade, I witnessed academic partnerships grow and change. At first, it was mostly academics from Wageningen and Delft who came to China to explain to their Chinese counterparts how to better manage water and get more yield out of a patch of soil. In essence, they were development workers. Without us fully realizing it, China had begun its catch-up race in knowledge, not only in the areas of technology, water, and agriculture, but also in economics, law, and governance; after all, we saw the promotion of good governance as one of our priorities.

Toward the end of the decade, woolly socks gave way to sharp suits and shiny briefcases full of thick contracts. Chinese research institutes increasingly showed willingness to finance collaborations with the Netherlands from their own budgets. Knowledge transfer became big business, especially as the new urban middle class began sending their children abroad for studies. The Netherlands turned out to be a popular destination.

Funding on the Fast Track

In the 2000s, academic collaboration took off rapidly. Sino-Dutch joint research centers and Master’s programmes – from microelectronics to international business and Dutch studies – sprang up at leading universities in Beijing and Shanghai. The number of Chinese students at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences increased exponentially. Within just a few years, the Netherlands had become a top-ten destination for Chinese students. Even the introduction of full-cost tuition fees proved to be no insurmountable barrier. According to the most recent figures, over six thousand Chinese students are currently studying at Dutch higher education institutions, and around three thousand Chinese researchers are working in the Netherlands, over two-thirds of whom are funded by the Chinese government.

In those years, market thinking within the academic world – and the accompanying financial flow – grew to such an extent that in 2008, I decided to establish my own educational consultancy. Since then, through Edvance Education International, we have advised Dutch and European education institutions on shaping their collaborations with China. We’ve helped thousands of students study abroad, not only Chinese students coming to Europe, but just as importantly, European students seeking a semester-long introduction to China.

The Knowledge Security Mantra

But in recent years, the mood has shifted. According to the official narrative, China is no longer just a partner, it is also a competitor, and even a systemic rival. The Dutch government is seeking a new balance in the relationship under the motto: “collaborate where we can, protect where we must.” More than any other sector, the academic world is now expected to place security considerations at the heart of all its interactions with China.
The government has developed a ‘Knowledge Security Guideline’ and opened a ‘Knowledge Security Desk’ where universities can ask questions. A new law on knowledge security is in the making, which will require large groups of foreign – read: Chinese – students and researchers to be screened before they can be admitted to ‘sensitive’ fields. Within universities, protocols, checklists, toolkits, and codes of conduct have been drawn up at every level. In this maze of regulations and top-down directives, many universities can no longer see the forest for the trees. As a result, administrators are increasingly choosing the safest route: they cancel new collaborations or keep postponing decisions. Over-compliance has become more the rule than the exception.

A Brake on Internationalization

On top of this, the government is also working on regulations to reduce the number of international students. In particular, enrolment in programmes with lower added value for our economy, such as psychology and business, is to be limited: the cost of education is ours, the benefits go to their home countries.
However, the only concrete measure implemented so far – that universities may no longer actively promote themselves abroad – has had the unintended consequence of reducing the number of Chinese students coming to the Netherlands for the first time. Enrolment from India and other non-European countries also lags behind that of our neighboring countries. Sadly, these are precisely the students with high added value for our country: they are more likely to pursue technical Master’s programmes, fund their own education, stay longer after graduation, and are in demand among Dutch employers.

Naïve for Too Long

It goes without saying that greater vigilance is needed in collaboration with China, for instance in areas like intellectual property, data collection and usage, reciprocity in partnerships, and dual-use: the application of knowledge for both civilian and military purposes.
There’s also no denying that we’ve collectively been too naïve for too long about certain Chinese ambitions. In fact, I would be surprised if China weren’t using its regular relations with the Netherlands to covertly gather certain information. If only because we, Western countries, do the same with China and with each other. I harbor few illusions about that.

A Skewed Debate

The danger now is that we swing too far toward a security-driven mindset, under pressure from politics and regulation, misunderstanding, and uncertainty. Striking a balance between open science and secure borders has proven to be a delicate challenge, especially because of the conflicting worldviews involved. But it’s not the worldviews of Chinese versus Dutch scientists that clash, they don’t differ that much. The real conflict is between the academic world and that of (national) security. The academic mindset assumes that knowledge does not stop at national borders, while the security world is built on reinforcing those very borders.

For years, scientists and the government have been at odds over what constitutes ‘sensitive’ technologies or disciplines, and over the role of English as the language of instruction in higher education, mainly because they view the world through entirely different lenses. And it’s an uneven debate: from the security side, vague assumptions, suspicions, or indirect evidence of possible bad Chinese intentions are often enough. Security services visit our universities and issue warnings about espionage or political interference by China or other state actors, without providing any proof. That kind of message typically makes little impression on scientists.

Reflection

A recent report by the China Knowledge Network on the future of scientific cooperation between China and the EU concludes that we’ve shifted too quickly from being ‘China fans’ to ‘China sceptics,’ or even ‘China adversaries.’ Risk-averse behavior has now become just as much an obstacle to collaboration as the risks themselves. Increasingly, decisions are made based on assumptions, perceptions, and imagery, rather than on verifiable facts. As a result, the future of academic cooperation is under strain.
This debate would benefit from more factual knowledge, more realism, and greater trust in science – and from less speculation and suspicion.

New Fire

The same report also recommends that more investment be made in China expertise. More Dutch students and PhD candidates should be sent to China in order to become ‘China-smart’ instead of remaining ‘China-ignorant.’
Such a recommendation makes my heart beat faster, because I know better than anyone how the returns from spending time in China far exceed the costs. But with the looming budget cuts in higher education, I fear this will remain an empty promise.
That’s why at Edvance, we’re taking up the challenge ourselves. We’re currently developing a new program to bring around 50 Dutch students to China each year for a semester-long introduction to today’s China, especially to developments in innovation and technology. It may not be much, but as Mao once put it: “a single spark can start a prairie fire.” Hopefully, in this way, we can once again do our small part in fostering a more constructive exchange of knowledge with China.