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.