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Yuanyue Dang

In an unprecedented move, China has placed a Polish university alongside defence contractors on an export control list targeting entities linked to the European security sector.
Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (PWr) was among 14 European Union entities added to a dual-use export control list by the Chinese commerce ministry on Friday.
The ministry said the additions, effective immediately, were in response to EU sanctions imposed on Thursday against 14 mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies over alleged links to Russia.
The university said it had not received any formal notification from Beijing.
“We are unable to comment on this matter as we have not yet received any official information. We still need to verify this,” PWr said in a statement on Friday.
While Beijing did not say why it had singled out PWr, the university’s defence research footprint and institutional ties with China offer clear clues.
Public research records show that the Polish university participates in EU-funded projects involving military drones and battlefield artificial intelligence (AI), while continuing to conduct joint semiconductor research with Chinese universities.


PWr ranked fourth among technical universities in Poland’s 2026 university rankings. In April, the university announced its participation in two European Defence Fund projects with a combined budget of nearly €11 million (US$12.9 million).
One of them, U-Harrier, aims to develop a heavy-lift military drone capable of carrying a payload of about 300kg (660lbs) and operating in contested environments. The project also examines ballistic protection, resistance to electromagnetic interference and real-time condition monitoring.
The other project, Dialog-AI, is led by Airbus Defence and Space and tests the use of generative AI, large language models and dialogue systems in operational military environments.
PWr also has a history of defence-related research, including projects designed to protect military electronic systems against high-power microwave pulses and to develop pulsed electromagnetic devices capable of disrupting radar, communications and navigation equipment.
Most of those projects, funded by Poland’s National Centre for Research and Development, were completed between 2020 and 2023.
Meanwhile, PWr continues to conduct joint research with Chinese institutions.
In December, it announced a partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study semiconductor interfaces between two-dimensional materials and silicon, germanium and gallium nitride.
The project, which received nearly 2 million zlotys (US$550,000) in funding, aims to develop new types of nanoelectronic devices.
It is part of the Sheng joint funding programme operated by Poland’s National Science Centre and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The project is described as basic research and has no publicly identified military applications.
But the new restrictions imposed by China could affect the supply of experimental materials, test wafers, lasers and semiconductor components, as well as the transfer of research samples between PWr and its Chinese partners.
Chinese institutions could also suspend cooperation with PWr over compliance concerns.


PWr also has research ties with Vigo Photonics, a Polish infrared detector manufacturer placed on the same Chinese export control list.
PWr and Vigo are jointly developing ultrastable pulsed lasers covering wavelengths from the near-infrared to the far-infrared. Vigo’s products are used in missile warning systems, guided munitions and directed infrared countermeasure systems.
The Chinese export control list announced on Friday also targets German defence giant Rheinmetall, Italian electric motor manufacturer Lafert and French drone developer Cavok UAS.
In all, the list targets three entities each in Germany and France, two each in Italy and Poland, and one each in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
The measures ban the export of dual-use items – products and technologies with both civilian and military applications, including some rare earth elements. They also bar third parties from supplying the entities with dual-use items of Chinese origin.
On Thursday, Brussels added 51 entities to its export control list as part of the latest EU sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The list includes third-country firms believed to be supporting Moscow’s military-industrial complex.
Apart from the 14 in mainland China and Hong Kong, the list names companies from Turkey, India, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.


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Wroclaw University of Science and Technology placed on export control list alongside defence firms as China hits back at latest EU sanctions


Wroclaw University of Science and Technology placed on export control list alongside defence firms as China hits back at latest EU sanctions.


China has put a Polish university on its European dual-use exports blacklist. Why?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Wroclaw University of Science and Technology placed on export control list alongside defence firms as China hits back at latest EU sanctions

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology placed on export control list alongside defence firms as China hits back at latest EU sanctions