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Students at British university campuses in China must swear allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party [CCP], a report has found.

At least 45 universities in the UK have lucrative partnerships with Chinese academic institutions to teach and award British degrees under a scheme called Joint Educational Institutes (JEIs).

The China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI), a think tank, has analysed policy documents and university publications to reveal “large-scale Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideological control” over these British overseas outposts.

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The findings raise fresh questions on Chinese influence over British universities and the risks this poses to academic freedom, amid a crisis in the UK government over designating Beijing a threat to national security.

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Students enrolled at the JEI campuses are, in theory, treated the same as home-taught students and subject to the same UK regulatory obligations.

However, thousands of undergraduates at some of the outposts have been required to take part in state-backed ceremonies, during which they are told to serve the “motherland” by pledging their unwavering support to the CCP.

The report claims these activities form part of “indoctrination campaigns”, which are presented as extracurricular activities.

The Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University, which was founded nearly 20 years ago, convened nearly 1,000 students for a flag-raising ceremony in 2021 to mark the 100th anniversary of the party’s creation.

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Details of the event were posted in Mandarin on the institution’s website, with images showing students standing behind uniformed guards as they hoist China’s flag. The university’s president, who is also a party secretary, told students in a speech they must have “strong patriotism” and “love their great motherland” and always “resolutely listen to the party and follow the party”.

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In a programme co-organised by the Dundee International Institute of Central South University, hundreds of students took part in a military-style ceremony in 2022 during which they “pledged their allegiance to the party with concrete actions”.

More than 1,000 students, many in soldiers’ uniforms, gathered in a sports arena, using their bodies to form a large CCP hammer and sickle emblem which changed colour.

“Rest assured, the party will make our country strong,” the university’s website said in a press release about the occasion, adding that the entire faculty and students sang the national anthem and saluted.

In 2023, staff and students at Southampton Ocean Engineering Joint Institute, based in Harbin, China, were photographed raising their fists towards the Chinese flag during a trip to a museum in honour of President Xi’s previous visit, according to the report.

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At least 12 employees at the Queen Mary school were identified by the CSRI as having jobs related to CCP work, including seven who were said to be responsible for the “ideological education” and “value guidance” of the students.

The two universities are among several in the UK which have reported significant financial income from their campuses in China, with the University of Nottingham generating £9.55 million in 2023 and Queen Mary University of London generating £16.57 million.

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