The Seven Sons of National Defense is a group of leading Chinese universities that are directed by and subordinate to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (CMIIT), which oversees China’s defense industry through its subordinate agency, State Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND). While we recognize the benefit of appropriate international collaborations, the close affiliation between these universities and CMIIT introduces atypical security risks and concerns about misuse of research for military purposes. For this reason, University Employees must not have any interactions, in their role as a University Employee, with any Seven Sonsof National Defense universities, including with faculty, researchers, or students associated with those universities. The universities currently include:
1. Beihang University (formerly Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)
2. Beijing Institute of Technology
3. Harbin Engineering University
4. Harbin Institute of Technology
5. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
6. Nanjing University of Science and Technology
7. Northwestern Polytechnical University
(See U.S. Department of Defense (2024), Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2024 Annual Report to Congress, https://media.defense.gov/2024/Dec/18/2003615520/-1/-1/0/MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA-2024.PDF)