US Department of War orders 30 US universities to audit partnerships with Chinese institutions

The US Department of War has ordered 30 universities to audit their academic, financial and research collaborations with foreign institutions, mainly with Chinese partners, or risk losing funding.

The measure, taken on 17/08/2026, follows the Trump administration's scrutiny over the country’s growing global influence.

The Pentagon said that this action was "designed to protect American taxpayer-funded research investments from unauthorised technology transfer, intellectual property theft and adversarial exploitation".

The Department added that to maintain eligibility for future federal research funding, "the notified universities must complete a comprehensive audit of all identified foreign collaborations, assess the exposure of sensitive or export-controlled research and implement strict…