The United States has expressed concern over reports of the University of Montenegro’s cooperation with a scientific center controlled by the Chinese military's leading scientific and engineering research institution.
On July 18, the university signed a memorandum of cooperation on cryptography, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity with China’s National Supercomputer Center in Jinan.
"This institution is operated by China’s National University of Defense Technology (NDUT) and is sanctioned by the Commerce Department," the State Department told RFE/RL.
NDUT, overseen by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is a leader in supercomputing, a tool that allows scientists to do simulations critical for national defense as well as other important issues.
US universities and companies have drastically scaled back research cooperation with Chinese institutions in recent years amid concern over exploitation and theft of intellectual property, especially for Beijing's military use.
To hinder scientific knowledge transfer to Washington's primary adversary, the United States has sanctioned a number of Chinese research institutions tied to the Asian country's military over the past decade. NDUT was first blocked by the Commerce Department in 2015.
Cooperation with universities in US-aligned countries could potentially give China a backdoor to the latest US research.
Given Montenegro’s NATO membership and regional leadership in cyber capacity building, the State Department said, “its partnerships in sensitive areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity should align with shared NATO security priorities and avoid enabling or cooperating with entities linked to China’s military modernization efforts.”
It added that it was “important that academic and research institutions adopt robust research security measures, including but not limited to, screening their potential collaborations for ties to entities of concern.”
The memorandum was signed by the university's rector, Vladimir Bozovic, who earned a PhD in the United States in mathematics and cryptography, including encryption methods and principles. During his US studies, he also worked as a researcher at the Florida-based Center for Cryptology and Information Security (CCIS).
The rector's office did not respond to RFE/RL’s questions about why it signed an agreement with a US-sanctioned institution, given that Montenegro is a NATO member and hosts the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Center (WB3C).
Montenegro is under no obligation to observe US sanctions -- which restrict US companies and individuals from transacting with blocked entities -- but Washington frowns upon allies and partners that do not.
Jeffrey Stoff, a former US government official who has studied Chinese penetration of US academia, told a Congressional hearing in January that universities are focused "on attracting sustaining revenue sources and human capital from anywhere and anyone," which can run counter to US national-security interests.
It is unclear, what, if any, financial or human capital the University of Montenegro would receive from China’s National Supercomputer Center in Jinan under the cooperation agreement.
The University of Montenegro has also engaged with other Chinese companies under US sanctions.
In December, a delegation led by Bozovic traveled to China to meet with representatives of leading IT companies, including Hikvision, which was blacklisted by the US Commerce Department in 2019.
The European Parliament also removed Hikvision’s cameras from its offices in 2021, and several European countries have banned their use in government buildings.
Neither the European Commission nor NATO responded to RFE/RL’s request for comment on the university’s cooperation with Chinese entities under US sanctions.