China and Iran have step by step deepened research ties in dual-use and rising applied sciences over the previous 15 years, the newest replace to ASPI’s China Defence Universities Tracker (CDUT) exhibits. The scale of this collaboration is proscribed, however the direct involvement of Iranian authorities businesses in facilitating joint research with China signifies the strategic nature of those partnerships.
US and Israeli strikes towards Iran that started on 28 February have sparked world curiosity in how Chinese defence expertise could also be supporting Iran’s struggle effort. Media stories have proven how Iran has benefited from applied sciences equipped by Chinese corporations, together with delicate satellite tv for pc imagery revealing particulars of US army bases.
To make clear how Iran could also be in search of out Chinese expertise and experience to develop dual-use capabilities, ASPI has added new info on dozens of establishments within the CDUT. Our new findings doc joint research packages and publications between Chinese and Iranian establishments over the previous 15 years related to dual-use functions. These additions may give CDUT subscribers extra confidence in assessing the relative dangers related to completely different establishments throughout China’s research ecosystem.
Some of probably the most notable collaborations are agreements signed straight between Iranian authorities businesses and high Chinese research establishments. In 2016, for instance, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s flagship scientific research organisation, signed an settlement with Iran’s Office of the Vice President for Science and Technology to pursue collaboration in nanotechnology, renewable vitality, cognitive science, biotechnology and, in a 2025 replace, AI. In 2017, the Iranian Space Agency established a contractual partnership targeted on microsatellite growth with Beihang University, one in all China’s high defence universities.
University-to-university collaborations have been additionally facilitated by means of bilateral authorities engagement. In 2013, a delegation of high Iranian ministers of science and expertise met with their Chinese counterparts and introduced that high Iranian universities would ship 50 doctoral college students to Tsinghua University, one in all China’s most elite universities, to pursue coaching in nanotechnology, aerospace and the cognitive sciences. Tsinghua has continued to deepen its engagement with Iranian universities since then. In 2025, a delegation from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran visited Tsinghua University’s Institute for AI International Governance.
Nanotechnology and aerospace have well-documented dual-use functions, whereas AI provides potential positive factors throughout surveillance, autonomous programs and missile steerage. But whether or not these collaborations have yielded militarily vital outputs stays troublesome to evaluate from open sources – and that’s exactly the place the CDUT’s detailed institution-level knowledge turns into invaluable. Rather than counting on headline-level conclusions, customers of the CDUT can interrogate every establishment’s research report, defence affiliations and recognized Iranian partnerships straight, making it a sensible device for individuals who must act on the element.
Still, the general quantity of China-Iran joint research seems low. For many Chinese establishments within the tracker, we discovered little to no proof of great joint dual-use research with Iranian establishments. For others, the one joint work in essential or dual-use expertise was a single publication.
This stands in sharp distinction to China’s in depth and swiftly rising research ties with Russia. ASPI’s 2025 CDUT update confirmed that China-Russia joint research packages had grown dramatically since 2019. Most Chinese universities included in that replace had at the very least some connection to Russian research establishments, and lots of Chinese universities had formal joint partnerships with a number of Russian counterparts.
The low quantity of China-Iran joint research might mirror lack of capability on the Iranian aspect or a cautious method from the Chinese aspect – sufficient engagement to construct relationships and sign solidarity with Iran, however not a lot as to set off publicity that will constrain Chinese pursuits in different domains.
This sample may mirror how China views the bilateral relationship extra broadly: much less a partnership of friends than a senior-junior association by which Beijing decides what to offer and on what phrases. Iran, below sustained financial and technological stress, has restricted leverage to demand extra, so it seems to take what it could get.
For overseas establishments engaged with Chinese universities, this means the danger that such engagement might enhance their publicity to Iran is, at the very least for now, low – although this varies by Chinese establishment. The CDUT will proceed to watch these hyperlinks, as seen by means of open-source data-gathering.
The newest CDUT additionally contains a full refresh to sanctions info throughout all 180-plus establishments within the tracker, together with a complete sweep throughout 9 sanctions and restriction lists issued by the United States, Canada, Japan, Belgium, the European Union and Taiwan. Comprehensive updates have been prolonged to 12 further establishments, masking the newest developments of their defence ties and research strengths. The tracker has additionally seen a spread of navigational enhancements designed to floor threat‑related info and assist deeper use by our subscribers.
The CDUT now covers greater than 180 Chinese civilian and army research establishments. It has turn into a go-to worldwide useful resource, drawing substantial site visitors from the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, Britain, Germany, Singapore, France, Taiwan, the Netherlands and India.
The CDUT illuminates army and safety hyperlinks between Chinese establishments and the state, serving to universities, governments and firms make knowledgeable and focused choices about research partnerships and collaboration. It helps export management compliance, research safety assessments and worldwide educational partnerships, due-diligence work, funding screening and knowledgeable public debate. Its purpose stays to guard research integrity whereas preserving the advantages of worldwide collaboration.
Find out extra about ASPI’s China Defence Universities Tracker or get entry here.