Research funded by the Pentagon and Department of Energy is facing intense scrutiny after over 100 projects were found to involve Chinese supercomputers currently under U.S. sanctions. These systems have been blacklisted for helping Beijing develop advanced weapons like nuclear arms and hypersonic missiles.
An investigation revealed that several U.S. national laboratories, including Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Argonne, supported studies that involved computing resources from Chinese supercomputing hubs in cities like Guangzhou and Changsha. These facilities were sanctioned years ago by the Department of Commerce for aiding China’s weapons of mass destruction programs.
Lawmakers say such cooperation is unacceptable. Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, who leads the House panel focused on threats from the Chinese Communist Party, said the research threatens national security and could lead to U.S. technologies being exploited by the Chinese military.
Some of the collaborations included Chinese government personnel and researchers from universities subordinate to China’s Central Military Commission. In one case, American scientists co-authored work on nuclear-relevant materials with teams who credited use of TianHe supercomputers long sanctioned by the United States.
While officials from the national labs denied direct use of the blacklisted Chinese systems, they did not deny that their research partners in China may have run the simulations or data processing abroad. That indirect access raises concerns over a loophole in current export control enforcement.
Former U.S. Air Force intelligence analyst L.J. Eads warned that these projects, often with dual-use potential, may assist Chinese capabilities in nuclear modeling and missile tracking. He said it was troubling to see taxpayer-funded researchers work alongside organizations tied to China’s defense sector.
The Department of Defense and Department of Energy declined to comment on the findings or how the collaborations were approved.
