Politics · United States · 1 hr ago
US designates Confucius Institutes a national security threat
The US Defense Department has designated Confucius Institutes a national security threat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
These Chinese-funded centres at US universities teach Chinese and hold cultural events.
Washington has long accused them of serving as Chinese propaganda tools, though China’s embassy did not immediately comment.
Hegseth said 80 centres had operated under different names at 30 universities, alleging they aimed to steal intellectual property and influence students.
He said the Pentagon dismantled all of them over the past two months.
The designation adds the organisations to the department’s list of institutions it considers threats to national security.
The US Defense Department designated Chinese-funded cultural centres at US universities as a threat to national security, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Oct. 23.
Hegseth said the centres had operated under different names at 30 universities.
He alleged that 80 centres shared a mission to steal intellectual property and influence American students.
He said the department had dismantled the organisations over the previous two months.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Who
- The US Defense Department, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing the designation.
- What
- Chinese-funded cultural centres known as Confucius Institutes were designated a national security threat. Hegseth said the department had dismantled the organisations.
- When
- Oct. 23, 2026.
- Where
- Universities in the United States.
- Why
- Hegseth alleged that the centres sought to steal intellectual property and influence American students.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Hegseth said the Defense Department had systematically dismantled the organisations.
Hegseth announced that the department had designated the centres as a national security threat.
- Designation
- US Defense Department listed the centres as a national security threat
- Universities
- 30
- Centres
- Hegseth alleged 80 had emerged under different names
- Department action
- Hegseth said the organisations were dismantled over the previous two months
3 sources
What people are saying
It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students