Queen's University Belfast has begun reviewing some of its partnerships with China after MI5 warned that a research institute had links to Chinese state security. Staff were “strongly advised to review any existing or proposed collaborations involving CGTRI”.
The warning concerns the China General Technology Research Institute, or CGTRI. MI5 said it was a front company with “very strong ties” to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), and that its central purpose was to finance academic work that would directly strengthen the MSS's technical capacity for espionage.
MI5 identified more than 100 UK-linked academics who had worked on CGTRI-funded projects involving AI, cyber-security, covert communications systems and steganography. It said some researchers may have been unaware of CGTRI's part in their projects or of the real source of the funding.
The agency published its alert on 30 September 2026. It said the connection to Chinese state security had been “obfuscated”, concealing the origin of the funding.
MI5 described the alert as highly unusual, saying it was the first of its kind that it had issued independently.
Dan Jarvis, the Security Minister, then wrote to every university vice-chancellor, calling on them to end relationships with CGTRI and ensure staff stop all arrangements with it. Jarvis said the alert revealed efforts by Chinese intelligence to covertly draw on British academics' expertise and research, undermining the national security of the UK and its allies.
MI5 warned that academics who continued such collaborations could ultimately face criminal charges for aiding a foreign state under the National Security Act. The law, passed in 2023, created an offence of assisting a foreign intelligence service where a person ought reasonably to have known what they were doing.
The agency advised researchers working with Chinese institutions to establish the ultimate source of funding for their projects.
Queen's University Belfast has invested over $10m (£7.56m) in China-related research over the past decade, including work on sustainable energy, information technology, food security and cancer research. A university spokesperson said it took “responsibilities around research and national security extremely seriously”.
Universities UK said it was reviewing the alert and was focused on “supporting our universities as they assess any implications for existing or future partnerships”.
Ulster University said it had no research links with CGTRI.
The Chinese Embassy in London rejected MI5's allegation, describing the accusation against CGTRI as “imaginary and purely fabricated”.
The alert follows earlier official concern about foreign interference in academia. Ministers met university leaders in November to discuss risks posed by interference from countries including China.
In June, MI5 and its closest partners in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand jointly warned that China's military intelligence services were targeting professional networking sites and online job platforms.
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