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Caroline Lin

Australia’s decision to axe partnerships with two Chinese universities has raised concerns that Canberra is moving to align with Washington on research security policy.
The decision came after the United States expanded its restrictions on research entities from China.
One analyst warned that Canberra’s latest move would not hinder Chinese progress, but it could leave Australia locked out of top-tier scientific research.
The Australian National University confirmed in a statement that it would comply with Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s order earlier this month to end its teaching partnership with Shandong University on national security grounds.
ANU said the university took “risks associated with foreign interference, national security and international engagement seriously”.

Earlier, The Australian reported that Wong had also cancelled a research collaboration between the University of Queensland and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop pain relief from a native plant, also citing security concerns.
Canberra’s directive came after the Pentagon added Shandong University to its list of foreign institutions deemed to pose national security threats.
Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said the axed deals suggested Canberra was starting to move in lockstep with Washington on research security.
“The US defines which Chinese institutions pose a risk and Australia re-examines its own partnerships through the lens of allied security,” he said.
“It signals a shift towards replacing project-level risk assessments with institutional blacklisting, and replacing academic judgment with political discretion.”
The ANU joint venture with Shandong University offered undergraduate programmes in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. The pain relief research was part of a broader collaboration between the state of Queensland and the CAS, with funding from both sides.
Chinese students enrolled in the SDU-ANU Joint Science College could study in China for three years before doing a two-year stint in Canberra.
Chen noted there were growing political risks facing joint projects between China and Australia, particularly in sensitive “dual-use” sectors such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, advanced materials, biotechnology, data science and autonomous systems.
That view was echoed by James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.
He said Wong’s directive sent a clear political message to academia, prompting Australian universities and individual researchers to “proactively steer away from collaborations with China”.
According to Chen, Canberra’s alignment with Washington created regulatory barriers for Chinese institutions in Australian academia while extending trust to its Five Eyes partners – an intelligence alliance with the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
“If this trend continues, when selecting partners, Australian universities may no longer prioritise those who possess the strongest research capabilities, but who is deemed strategically most trustworthy,” Chen said.

Laurenceson described the axed partnerships as “relatively low risk” and questioned whether Australian researchers could easily switch to US-aligned allies for such projects.
He said policy-driven disruptions would do little to slow China’s technological rise, given that the country was leading the way in key fundamental research.
“If we deliberately cut ourselves off from China, the inevitable consequence will be that in a growing field Australia will be locking itself into a second-rate scientific research ecosystem,” Laurenceson said.
Responding to the cancellations, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian hit out at what he called “overstretching the concept of national security” and politicising or weaponising normal scientific, educational and academic exchanges.
Neither Chen nor Laurenceson expected a total collapse in education and research ties between Australia and China given their deep institutional roots.
An Australian Department of Education report in June said China had approved three joint institutes and eight joint programmes with Australia this year – up from two institutes and one programme in 2025. That took the total to 22 active joint institutes and 101 joint programmes by May.
Notably, nearly 80 per cent of the newly approved partnerships are in fields related to digital and information technology, advanced manufacturing and engineering, and environmental sustainability and ecology.
Australia and China have mended ties under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government after a prolonged period of tension over issues including political meddling allegations, a ban on Huawei 5G, Canberra’s push for an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, and trade.
According to Laurenceson, the government’s veto of joint university projects suggested political trust between the nations remained low, but he said it was unlikely to derail the broader stabilisation agenda or trigger fallout in areas like trade.


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China-Australia relations

ANU said it would comply with an order to end its partnership with Shandong University. Photo: Shutterstock

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has cancelled partnerships with two Chinese universities. Photo: Michael Errey/AAP/dpa

A pain relief research project between the University of Queensland and the Chinese Academy of Sciences was axed. Photo: Shutterstock

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Observers say Canberra is starting to align with Washington on security policy after it cut partnerships with two institutions from China


Observers say Canberra is starting to align with Washington on security policy after it cut partnerships with two institutions from China.


Will Australia be locked out of top scientific research by shunning Chinese universities?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Observers say Canberra is starting to align with Washington on security policy after it cut partnerships with two institutions from China

Observers say Canberra is starting to align with Washington on security policy after it cut partnerships with two institutions from China