House Republicans have asked seven U.S. universities to sever their relationships with the state-funded China Scholarship Council, saying the exchange programme is a "nefarious mechanism" that facilitates technology transfer to Beijing. In letters dated 9 July, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party demanded the schools detail all contracts, correspondence and research records linked to the programme. Committee chair Rep. John Moolenaar wrote that the CSC, which sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students each year, "directly supports China’s military and scientific growth." According to the letters, the council can place up to 15 students a year at Dartmouth College, 40 at the University of Notre Dame and 60 at Temple University; smaller numbers are sent to the University of Tennessee and the University of California’s campuses in Davis, Irvine and Riverside. Recipients must return to China for two years after graduating and provide quarterly progress reports to Chinese authorities. Several universities said the partnerships are already ending or under review. Dartmouth and Notre Dame said they had decided earlier this year to terminate their CSC agreements, while the University of Tennessee is examining the committee’s request. The University of California system said it complies with federal rules and values international collaboration. The Chinese Embassy did not respond to requests for comment. The investigation widens Republican scrutiny of academic links to China after recent visa restrictions on Chinese nationals in sensitive fields and pressure that prompted Eastern Michigan University to end two Chinese joint programmes in June. China remains the second-largest source of foreign students in the United States, with more than 270,000 enrolled in the 2023-24 academic year.