New Strider Report Reveals Scope and Scale of U.S. Academic Research Done in Collaboration with PLA-Affiliated Entities on STEM Technologies

Strider identified more than 100,000 instances of collaboration between U.S. organizations and PLA-affiliated research institutes on technologies that bolster China’s military capabilities

Salt Lake City, UT (October 14, 2025)  – Strider Technologies, Inc. (“Strider”), the leading provider of strategic intelligence, today published a new report documenting the scope and scale of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) technology collaboration between leading U.S. research organizations and entities operated by or affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). International research collaborations are one of the most effective tactics used by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to accelerate its science and technology (S&T) ambitions and present enduring threats to U.S. national security and intellectual property.

Strider’s report—From Innovation to Weaponization: How China Exploits the U.S. Open Scientific System—details how China has successfully structured collaborations with U.S. researchers totaling more than 100,000 instances (resulting in more than 23,000 publications) with over 50 PLA-affiliated research institutes (PLA-RIs) on STEM technologies since 2017.

These PLA-RIs include PLA research bodies, state-owned defense conglomerates, and “Seven Sons of National Defense” universities. Moreover, the topics of collaboration include the most strategic technology areas, including AI, quantum computing, and aerospace, as well as technology with military utility, such as anti-jamming communications, surveillance, hypersonic vehicles, and directed energy.

“Academic institutions sit at the leading edge of scientific discovery, driving the technologies that will define the future on and off the battlefield. But in critical STEM fields, research is increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by adversarial nation-states seeking to undermine U.S. national security through dual-use innovation,” said Greg Levesque, CEO and Co-Founder of Strider. “Our report highlights the national security risk posed by direct research collaborations with entities operated by—or closely tied to—the People’s Liberation Army and China’s state-owned defense sector. These are not ordinary academic or research institutions; these are the organizations actively building the next generation of strategic technologies and weapons systems for the PRC.

“We deliberately chose not to name specific U.S. institutions in this report because the goal isn’t to assign blame—it’s to build collective awareness and develop a response,” Levesque continued. “This is a system failure. These collaborations are happening at institutions in every state across the country, at public and private institutions of all sizes. For the past 30 years, U.S.-China relations emphasized collaboration. That era is over. The focus must now shift to establishing responsible research practices that protect U.S. national interests and societal resilience.

“China is undertaking one of the most significant military build-ups of our generation, and, shockingly, U.S. universities are contributing to it,” Levesque concluded. “This moment demands leadership from U.S. university administrators—to draw a firm line and end any research that contributes to China’s military ambitions. The stakes are clear, make the call.”

Strider’s report reveals that, despite U.S. government efforts to mitigate vulnerabilities within the American research ecosystem, the PRC military continues to reap the benefits of U.S. innovation through research collaboration with U.S. science and technology institutions. These partnerships can also be leveraged to cultivate relationships with U.S. experts as a potential pathway for eventual recruitment to the PRC. Specifically, Strider found:

• More than 500 U.S. organizations have collaborated with a PLA-RI on STEM topics since 2017. Most instances of collaboration with PLA-RI have been done through leading universities (from every state in the U.S.) and government laboratories.
• There have been more than 100,000 instances of collaboration between researchers affiliated with U.S. organizations and researchers affiliated with PLA-RI on STEM topics since 2017. Topics of collaboration include strategic dual-use technologies, as well as technology with a high likelihood of military utility.
• U.S. and PLA-RI collaboration has modestly declined since 2019 but remains high, even years after policy actions like National Security Presidential Memorandum 33. This collaboration facilitates PRC recruitment of top research talent and the transfer of critical expertise to the PRC military, with similar patterns observed globally.

The full report can be found here. For more information on Strider’s strategic intelligence platform, click here.

About Strider

Strider is the leading strategic intelligence company empowering organizations to secure and advance their technology and innovation. Leveraging cutting-edge AI technology alongside proprietary methodologies, Strider transforms publicly available data into critical insights. This increased intelligence enables organizations to proactively address and respond to risks associated with state-sponsored intellectual property theft, targeted talent acquisition, and third-party partners. Strider has operations in 15 countries around the globe with offices in Salt Lake City, Washington, DC, London, Tokyo; and Sydney.