BERLIN: German Minister for education on Saturday called for a revision of student exchange programs with China, citing a growing risk of scientific spying posed by Chinese students who come to study in Germany on state scholarships.
Talking to the media, German Minister for Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger said, “China is becoming more competitive and is a systemic foe in the field of science and research,”.
Bettina Stark-Watzinger hailed a decision by the Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) in Bavaria, which regularly partners with industry in research projects in Germany, to no longer accept students from China whose sole financing comes from the China Scholarship Council, which is a state entity.
Reports published in Deutsche Welle and the Correctiv investigative platform, recipients of these government scholarships must ink a loyalty oath to the Chinese state.
The Minister hailed the German university for its decision, adding it was motivated by “the realization that the scientific freedom anchored in German Basic Law cannot be fully exercised by the China Scholarship Council scholarship recipients because of the conditions of their scholarships and there also exists a growing risk of scientific spying.”
In mid-July, Germany hardened its approach to Beijing, publishing a strategy in response to a “more confident” China, sparking anger from Beijing.
Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany had “reacted to a China that has changed and become more confident” and that Berlin wanted to decrease economic reliance on China in critical fields.
China said the new approach would increase “man-made risks” and “aggravate divisions” across the world. German’s harder line has also sparked fears in the industry in Germany, which has grown increasingly dependent on Beijing.
Corporate giants like Siemens and Volkswagen have, in recent months, outlined growth strategies that depend heavily on the Chinese market.
