Cambridge College Accepted ‘Very High Risk’ Funding from Chinese Communist University – Report

A college that forms part of the University of Cambridge reportedly accepted funding deemed ‘very high risk’ from a Chinese University linked to the Communist Party.

Jesus College, part of the world-renowned University of Cambridge, received funding from a Chinese Communist Party linked University which has been described as “very high risk”, a report has claimed.

The college has previously been accused of “blatant corruption” after being found to have accepted hundreds of thousands of British pounds from Chinese organisations, some of which have been denounced for their links to the CCP.

According to a report by The Times, the college is still taking money from Chinese bodies, receiving £20,000 from Tsinghua University, Beijing, for reasons including so-called “background research” into foreign business involvement in China’s controversial Belt and Road initiative.

Tsinghua University — deemed a high-risk institution by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute — is known to have very close links with the ruling Chinese Communist Party, with the ‘Tsinghua Clique” — made up of alumni and former lecturers from the college — becoming extremely prominent within the upper echelons of power in the country.

By far the most prevalent member of the clique is Chinese President Xi Jinping, who graduated from the university in 2002 after majoring in “Marxist theory and ideological education”.

This is far from the first time Jesus College has been accused of taking money from organisations linked to Communist China.

The institute previously received £155,000 from controversial Chinese tech firm Huawei, which has been described as an “extension of the Chinese government” by one US government expert, while a trust located within the college also received a further £55,000 in state-backed cash.

When information regarding the funding came to light, many were quick to criticise the college, with some saying that the funding would impact the way the university reported on Chinese issues, while one Conservative Party MP went so far as to describe the Jesus College funding as “blatant corruption”.

As Jesus College wanted it be known at the time, distancing themselves from the money, ” apart from the fact the Trust is physically located inside the college, pays the college to use office space on its premises, and funds Jesus College’s China Centre which is run by a Jesus College professor, there is no relationship between the Cambridge China Development Trust and Jesus College.”

However, the Cambridge University subsidiary is far from the only 3rd level institution that has been found to be involved with Chinese money in recent years, with others being criticised for cooperating with CCP linked institutions.

Security and propaganda fears have resulted in calls for western universities to distance themselves from China, with one report previously claiming that funding from the CCP ran the risk of turning UK 3rd level institutions into “hostages for Beijing”.

However, such direct lines of revenue are far from the only ways UK institutions end up receiving money from China, with foreign students from the country being a major cash earner for the sector.

What’s more, student number forecasts predict that the number of Chinese students in British universities will more than double by 2030, being expected to reach around 50,000.

“…like any industry, we need to be careful that we don’t become financially over-reliant on one country,” said the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, Tom Tugendhat, regarding the issue.

“Dependency creates weakness,” he went on to say.