Head of leading Chinese defence university sanctioned by US promoted to vice-minister for industry

Shan Zhongde was previously head of the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which has close links to the Chinese military

Donald Trump banned students from the university from receiving US visas, citing the risk of spying and the theft of intellectual property

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Shan Zhongde was previously head of the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:21pm, 23 Feb 2024Updated: 8:28pm, 23 Feb 2024

The head of a university sanctioned by the United States over its close links to the Chinese military has been named as one of the country’s vice-ministers for industry and information technology.

Shan Zhongde, a mechanical industrial researcher who was identified as leading scientist under the government’s Ten Thousands Talents Programme, was previously head of the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which has close ties to the military and defence industry.

In May 2020 Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation banning graduate students with links to the People’s Liberation Army from receiving US visa – a move media reports said was aimed at the university and other related research institutions known as the “Seven Sons of National Defence”.

Trump said the measure was designed to stop spying and the illegal collection of American intellectual property – accusations China denied.

Later in the year, the university was also included on a entities list that identified institutions that posed a threat to US national security.

The Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, was classified as high-risk by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in its China Defence Universities Tracker. The think tank said this was because of “its involvement in economic espionage and very high level of defence research” and role in top secret projects.

Shan was appointed as university president shortly after Trump signed the proclamation and was promoted to become its Communist Party chief in 2023.

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