When Could a College or a University Hosting a Confucius Institute Receive DOD Funding?

·  U.S. host institutions should demonstrate that the CI is a formally established center or institute at the institution, thereby subjecting the CI to all policies and procedures prescribed in faculty, staff, and student codes, as well as in shared governance documents that ensure that similar units within the university support the key values of American academic institutions, including academic freedom and openness and respectful behavior toward other host institution academic units. If a U.S. host institution is not structured in a way that allows for formal centers or institutes, it should develop a structure for oversight and include the details for that structure in the documents governing a CI. 

·  U.S. host institutions should demonstrate that they meet and comply with all applicable DOD requirements for information, data, physical, and research security. 

·  U.S. host institutions should demonstrate that they possess full managerial control of Confucius Institute curriculum, instructors, textbooks and teaching materials, programmatic decisions, and research grants. 

·  U.S. host institutions should ensure that no contract or other written agreement pertaining to creating or operating the Confucius Institute calls for the application of foreign law to any aspect of the Confucius Institute’s operation at any U.S. campus of the host institution. 

·  U.S. host institutions should demonstrate appropriate fiduciary and financial oversight of the Confucius Institute. 

Full details on the waiver criteria can be found in the report. 

In the absence of any applicable adverse information that cannot be addressed or mitigated through the criteria or other means, DOD should grant a waiver if an applying institution of higher education meets the stated waiver criteria, the report says. If DOD does not grant any waivers, or decides not to grant a waiver to a specific institution of higher education when others are awarded, it should specify the reason for denial to the extent possible at the unclassified level. The committee recognizes that the U.S. government has the right to withhold taxpayer dollars from going to institutions of higher education where the Chinese government is embedded on campus if proper risk-mitigating measures to secure and protect research data and intellectual property are not present or sufficient. 

Outside input is critical to ensure that the waiver application process is free from undue administrative and regulatory burden, the committee said. The report encourages DOD to solicit external input from key organizations including industry, higher education associations, and universities in addition to U.S. government input as it considers the waiver criteria and develops a waiver process for implementation beginning in fiscal year 2024. 

A second report exploring foreign-funded partnerships on U.S. campuses more broadly will be released in summer 2023. 

The study, undertaken by the Committee on Confucius Institutes at U.S. Institutions of Higher Education, was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense.