RismadarVoice Reporters
October 26, 2026
China has criticised the United States for designating Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes operating on American university campuses as national security threats, describing the decision as an attempt to discredit educational and cultural exchanges.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed Beijing’s opposition on Monday, maintaining that the institutions were established to promote Chinese language education, cultural understanding and cooperation between countries.
Guo rejected what he described as the stigmatisation of Confucius Institutes, arguing that educational exchanges between China and the United States benefit citizens of both nations.
He urged Washington to avoid measures that could undermine academic cooperation and people-to-people relations.
The criticism follows an announcement by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday, October 23, that the Pentagon had designated Confucius Institutes and related Chinese-backed organisations as threats to American national security.
Hegseth alleged that some institutions had continued operating under different names despite restrictions imposed by the United States.
According to him, 80 organisations had emerged under different names and charters across 30 American universities.
He accused the organisations of attempting to influence students and obtain intellectual property, alleging that the Pentagon had dismantled the operations over the preceding two months.
However, independent evidence establishing the alleged activities of all 80 organisations was not presented in the reports reviewed.
Washington has long expressed concerns that Confucius Institutes could serve as instruments of Chinese government influence within American educational institutions.
The United States has consequently introduced restrictions affecting universities that maintain certain relationships with Chinese-funded cultural programmes, particularly in connection with federal defence funding.
Beijing has consistently rejected allegations that the institutes engage in espionage or improper political interference.
Confucius Institutes were established to provide Chinese language instruction, cultural programmes and educational exchanges through partnerships with institutions abroad.
Supporters regard them as platforms for international cultural cooperation, while critics have raised concerns about academic independence, transparency and the influence of Chinese government funding.
Several universities in the United States and other countries have closed or restructured their Confucius Institute partnerships amid those concerns.
The latest disagreement comes against the backdrop of broader tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology, research collaboration, intellectual property and national security.
Although the Pentagon has announced its designation, the precise legal implications for affected institutions and the evidence supporting individual allegations remain unclear.
The dispute highlights continuing differences between the two governments over the boundaries between legitimate cultural diplomacy and foreign influence in educational institutions.
