In this report, we examine the extent to which the British public welcomes research output, research partnership and professors coming from high-risk countries. As part of the research, polling was conducted from a representative sample of adult residents in the United Kingdom (UK), analysing which countries are perceived as high-risk; which areas of research are particularly problematic from the point of view of British citizens; and what kind of restrictions (if any) the British public supports when it comes to academic collaboration.
Our polling shows that Russia, China, and Iran were viewed by respondents as having opposing interests to the UK, and as often working against the UK’s own interests, with national security and data privacy being the two most sensitive risk factors. In terms of research areas, cyber security and DNA testing were seen as the most sensitive areas for collaboration with high risk states, while data privacy represented the largest risk factor on average across associated research areas. Finally, strong restrictions on collaboration with research partners from high risk counties were sometimes seen as appropriate depending on the research area in question.
We conclude that while some kinds of collaboration do come with risks, protecting the freedom of universities and academic research stipulates that an outright ban would not be productive and could be very costly. Indeed, from our polling, we can also see that such bans are not supported by most of the British public. However, given the scale and rapid escalation of research collaboration with China, a review of safeguards and restrictions in areas deemed high-risk, such as national security and data privacy is largely supported by the public. This is especially important given the relationship between the Chinese state and many Chinese corporations, and particularly in areas where these concerns are most sensitive for the British public, such as cyber security and DNA testing.
However, striking the right balance between freedoms and adequate protections is likely to be difficult, especially when it comes to China. As it stands, research collaboration with China is seeing a steady rise, and the public’s view about China remains softer in comparison to say Russia or Iran. There are strong reasons why views towards China remain softer in comparison. For example, many admire China for its economic development in the last forty years. Moreover, the West has formed very important economic relations with China – and restricting those will come with substantial costs for the West as well. Finally, unlike Russia, there are still ongoing debates regarding the real challenge that China actually represents to the current world order.
For these reasons, the West has formed relations with China which are now very hard and costly to disentangle. However, as we detail in our report, remaining enmeshed is becoming increasingly risky and difficult to ignore. Along those lines, the British public remains concerned about research collaboration with Chinese institutions in areas such as cyber security and DNA testing as it understands such collaborations can pose serious risks to national security and data privacy. All of this makes it very difficult to strike the right balance, especially when it comes to research collaboration.
Thus, this paper urges the UK Government, universities, and UK-based research programmes to be more security-minded and risk-aware of the serious risks involved when engaging in potentially sensitive research collaboration projects that could impact on national security or data privacy.