China has criticised efforts to restrict academic and research cooperation with Chinese institutions, saying the concept of national security should not be used to interfere with normal international collaboration.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks during a regular press briefing on Tuesday in response to comments by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Wong had recently called on the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Queensland to terminate their respective collaborations with Shandong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Lin said China opposes what it described as an attempt to “overstretch” the concept of national security to restrict or suppress normal international cooperation in education and research.
He urged the relevant parties to approach academic exchanges and research collaboration in a rational manner.
China has consistently called for greater international cooperation in education, science and technology, while Australia has increasingly scrutinised research partnerships involving Chinese institutions amid broader national security concerns.
The latest dispute comes against the backdrop of increasingly complex relations between Australia and China, with both countries seeking to maintain economic and people-to-people ties while managing concerns over security and technology.
