'Academic espionage': China suspected of flooding U.S. with students to access sensitive programs

America’s plan to catch China in the race to deploy super-fast hypersonic weapons may begin in college classrooms.

Academic leaders, lawmakers, and military and intelligence officials say Washington needs to take a harder look at the number of Chinese who come to the U.S. to study engineering, aeronautics, astronautics, quantum mechanics and other fields that have direct connections to national security.

The massive influx of Chinese students in recent years, they say, has led directly to Beijing’s advantage in the development of hypersonics and other cutting-edge technology — though U.S. officials say privately that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to track individual cases of students gaining specific insights in a given area and then taking that knowledge back home.

The issue of China’s “academic espionage” raises delicate questions about discrimination and academic freedom, and the education and military sectors have struggled to strike the right balance between protecting classified research and attracting the diverse, international student base prized by top universities.

Academic leaders say Washington needs to lead the way in developing a comprehensive strategy to counter China’s long-term efforts to use America’s institutions for its own gain. Relying on individual professors or universities to police themselves, scholars say, is ineffective.

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[Salisbury News has been posting about this critical issue for at least 3 years. The solution is quite simple -- stop issuing visas to Chinese 'students.' --Editor]