Leading Chinese universities linked to the country's defense sector have significantly increased research partnerships with Russian institutions, new research shared with Radio Free Europe (RFE) shows. This has given Moscow access to new technology and expertise that could help it counter Western sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Preliminary findings by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), confirmed by RFE/RL, show that all 68 Chinese universities officially described as part of the country's defense system or under the supervision of a defense agency have "deepened or dramatically deepened" research ties with Russia since 2019.
This growing cooperation could give Moscow better access to strategic technologies with military applications in which China is a global leader, while giving Beijing access to research and development in key sectors such as aircraft engine production, in which Russia remains advanced, says the author of the research project.
"All of these universities are connected to defense or to the critical and dual-use technology ecosystem in China. This could indirectly help Russia in the war in Ukraine by providing access to innovation and knowledge that helps mitigate the effect of Western sanctions and export controls," Bethany Allen, head of the China Research Department at ASPI, told RFE/RL.
Deepening Beijing-Moscow cooperation through higher education is another strategic area in which their relations have expanded under Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and which have become even deeper since February 2022 when the two leaders declared a "no-holds-barred" partnership just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
While cooperation between Chinese and Russian institutions has existed before and is not limited to sectors with defense applications, research cooperation in this area has accelerated in the context of the war in Ukraine. Preliminary ASPI data indicates growing research partnerships focused on aeronautics and drone technology between leading research institutions of the two countries.
This comes at a time when Western governments are seeking to limit academic cooperation with both countries and restrict them from accessing strategic research.
"Russia has found itself cut off to some extent from Western scientific research since its invasion of Ukraine, and Chinese research institutes are also facing new restrictions, particularly from the United States. Under that pressure, they have decided it makes sense to complement each other," says Allen.
Focus on drones and advanced engines
The research is part of an ongoing project ASPI launched in September that tracks links between Chinese civilian universities and the country's military and security sectors. The organization shared with RFE/RL preliminary findings on ties between Chinese and Russian institutions from a still-unfinished report.
China has prioritized building links between its civilian universities and the military and security sectors. Historically, it has trained defense scholars at seven leading universities known as the “Seven Sons of National Defense.” But in recent years, China’s ecosystem has grown to include an additional 61 universities that are now officially described as part of the defense network or under the supervision of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, China’s defense agency.
It is the universities from this circle that are establishing partnerships with Russian research institutions.
One notable partnership identified by ASPI is between the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) and Beihang University, which established a joint master's program in 2017. The Beihang Aircraft Engine Research Institute says the program aims to help China's aircraft engine sector enter a "critical stage of transformation" from "testing and imitating R&D" to "independent development."
Cooperation brings clear benefits for both sides and dual-purpose applications – from the battlefield in Ukraine to a monopoly on future key technologies.
Beihang is a university within the "Seven Sons" and is ranked as China's leading university for aerospace research, with a particular focus on drone manufacturing, drone technology, and advanced aircraft engine research.
The United States is currently considered the world leader in advanced aircraft engine research, but China has clear ambitions to take over that position. China is now responsible for much of the leading research in the field and has established a number of new institutes focused on their development.
MAI is one of Russia's leading aviation institutes and has spearheaded advanced research into aircraft engines. As Russian arms sales to Beijing have declined in recent years due to China's increasing military self-sufficiency, aircraft engines have remained a steady import, even during the war in Ukraine.
"China has struggled to produce the most advanced aircraft engines, so this is an area where Russia can help," says Allen.
Examples of Sino-Russian research programs
Xi'an University of Technology is another university from the "Seven Sons" group that has established new partnerships with Russia.
The school focuses on research into advanced weapons systems in collaboration with several Chinese arms companies and in 2023 launched a joint training program with the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University "Peter the Great", which has some of the most advanced hydroaerodynamic laboratories in Russia, as well as close ties to the Russian military-industrial complex.
The Russian university is heavily involved in the Kremlin's war effort, with its leadership publicly supporting the invasion of Ukraine. The university's Center for Special Technologies is currently under US and EU sanctions, and developed the Orlan-10 drone, one of the main drones used by Russia in attacks on infrastructure in Ukraine.
Another key center of Sino-Russian research is the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), one of China's most important military research universities, which the US government placed under sanctions in 2020 for its alleged role in procuring equipment for the Chinese military.
Although the institute has hosted exchanges and joint research between China and Russia for more than a century, in recent years it has expanded ties with Russian universities.
HIT and Bauman Moscow State Technical University founded the Association of Sino-Russian Technical Universities in 2011, and since then it has grown into a joint institute that brings together 59 undergraduate students studying in both Russia and China.
HIT is also training more than 1.500 Chinese and Russian students in a new scientific and educational center established with St. Petersburg State University. The Chinese university has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and the Russian Academy of Engineering in 2024, among a long list of growing agreements with Russian institutions.
These deep ties led to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to HIT in 2024 during a state visit to China, where he said that the institution was "inseparably linked to Russia."
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