MIT cuts funding ties with Huawei and ZTE citing US investigations
- No new engagements or renewals of existing ones, Massachusetts Institute of Technology says, explaining that partnerships with certain countries need extra scrutiny
- Both the Chinese telecoms firms named have faced investigation in the US, including over claims that their equipment could pose cybersecurity threats
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is ending its funding ties with Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, citing the risks that such arrangements might cause in the light of US federal investigations of the two companies.
“At this time, based on this enhanced review, MIT is not accepting new engagements or renewing existing ones with Huawei and ZTE or their respective subsidiaries due to federal investigations regarding violations of sanction restrictions,” Richard Lester, MIT’s associate provost, and Maria Zuber, the school’s vice-president for research, said in a letter to staff on Wednesday.
MIT’s move is part of a broader effort to strengthen its vetting of research partners, which may affect relationships with other entities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
“Most recently we have determined that engagements with certain countries – currently China [including Hong Kong], Russia and Saudi Arabia – merit additional faculty and administrative review beyond the usual evaluations that all international projects receive,” the letter said.