Seven Sons of National Defence

Seven Sons of National Defence
Simplified Chinese	国防七子
Traditional Chinese	國防七子
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guó Fáng Qī Zǐ

The Seven Sons of National Defence (Chinese: 国防七子) or colloquially G7 (Guofang 7) is a grouping of the public universities affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China.[1][2] They are widely believed to have close scientific research partnerships and projects with the People’s Liberation Army.[3][4]

Universities

The universities of the Seven Sons of National Defence include:[5]

• Beihang University in Haidian, Beijing
• Beijing Institute of Technology in Haidian, Beijing
• Harbin Engineering University in Harbin, Heilongjiang
• Harbin Institute of Technology in Harbin, Heilongjiang
• Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nanjing, Jiangsu
• Nanjing University of Science and Technology in Nanjing, Jiangsu
• Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an, Shaanxi

Views

Three quarters of university graduates recruited by defense related state-owned enterprises in China come from the Seven Sons.[6] The Seven Sons devote at least half of their research budgets to military products.[7]

According to the Hoover Institution, the Seven Sons "operate as prime pathways for harvesting US research and diverting it to military applications."[8]

In 2020, the United States government banned students from the Seven Sons schools to study in graduate programs in the United States.[5]

See also

• Seven Sisters (colleges)
• C9 League
• Excellence League
• Double First Class University Plan
• Project 985
• Project 211
• Proclamation 10043

References

1. "兰州市科技局 兰州科技动态 兰州市科技局召开与"国防七子"开展院地校企合作座谈会". Lanzhou Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology – Lanzhou Municipal People's Government. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
2. "两电一邮、五院四系、国防七子…这些行业高校大佬，你知道几所？". Sohu News. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
3. Xiu, Ma; Singer, Peter W. "How China Steals US Tech to Catch Up in Underwater Warfare". www.defenseone.com. Defense One. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
4. Fedasiuk, Ryan; Weinstein, Emily (2021-01-29). "Universities and the Chinese Defense Technology Workforce" (PDF). Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
5. Cong, Forest. "US Ban on Chinese Students With Military Links Divides Experts on Impact". www.voanews.com. www.voanews.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
6. Fedasiuk, Ryan; Weinstein, Emily. "Universities and the Chinese Defense Technology Workforce" (PDF). georgetown.edu. Georgetown. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
7. de Bruijn, Annebelle. "How TU Delft unintentionally helps the Chinese army". www.delta.tudelft.nl. TU Delft. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
8. Stoff, Jeffrey; Tiffert, Glenn. "Under the Radar: National Security Risk in US-China Scientific Collaboration" (PDF). www.hoover.org. Hoover Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.