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Major European funders of scientific research collaborations with China, particularly in fields like virology and air quality, have put bilateral research programs on hold due to concerns over China’s data protection laws, according to funding agencies.
The suspension, which Reuters is reporting for the first time, highlights the far-reaching impact of China’s Data Security Law, which has already hindered some business projects, as international institutions and companies navigate the regulations.
While many countries require various protections and privacy safeguards for research involving their citizens, China’s Data Security Law, implemented in 2021, makes it illegal to share “important data” with overseas partners without approval.
Three European funding agencies – the German Research Foundation, Swedish Research Council, and Swiss National Science Foundation – told Reuters that they have not offered new co-funding for projects with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) since 2021 due to concerns over data access, potential conflicts with local data laws, and legal liabilities.
The definition of “important data” is a major concern, as it requires security clearance from the Cyberspace Administration of China to export, and the agencies are unsure what constitutes “important data”.
“The definition of ‘important data’ is unclear,” the Swiss National Science Foundation told Reuters. “It is difficult for the Swiss research community to assess when and under what circumstances a research collaboration could be subject to sanctions or penalties.”
China has defined “important data” as data that poses a threat to national and economic interests or affects individual or organizational rights, but has not provided further clarification.
If a dataset is classified as “important data”, it will be “extremely difficult, if not virtually impossible, to export these data from China to another country,” the German Research Foundation told Reuters.
The suspension could potentially delay research in the health sector, an area previously supported by joint collaboration funders, at a time when the US administration is freezing billions of dollars in US National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
“Concerns about how the data laws are being applied exist and are very real,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary-general of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.
“We saw that responding to the COVID pandemic required global sharing of data on a massive scale, but we also saw national sensitivities around data related to the origin of COVID,” Palmowski added. “If we want to be agile in responding to future pandemics and address key health challenges, we need to find ways to share data responsibly, safely, and according to common ethical rules.”
In their last projects with the NSFC, the Swedish Research Council provided approximately 36 million Swedish crowns ($3.7 million) in funding, the Swiss National Science Foundation 4.8 million Swiss francs ($5.8 million), and the German Research Foundation 6.6 million euros ($7.51 million), according to statistics provided by the European funders.
“They (China’s science ministry) don’t understand why the issue needs to be clarified on a government-to-government level,” said a European government official discussing the data security law with the ministry.
The European official said China’s science ministry has recommended that researchers resolve any issues themselves, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing discussions with the ministry.
China’s science ministry and the Cyberspace Administration of China did not respond to requests for comment.
The three funders were among the top 50 overseas co-funding agencies with the NSFC, China’s top funder of scientific publications, in documents registered to the Web of Science publication database between 2015 and 2024, according to data provided by Clarivate.
They have previously accepted proposals for jointly funded research projects in subjects including the airborne spread of antibiotic resistance and the virus that causes COVID-19.
Concerned
Other countries have expressed concerns, including the US, which has previously stated that China’s definition of “important data” in the data security law is broad and vaguely defined.
Kei Koizumi, a former White House science policy official, told Reuters that US agencies, including the NIH, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy, expressed concerns about data access and researcher protections, which were incorporated into a US-China science deal announced in December.
According to the agreement, which Reuters obtained from the US State Department via a Freedom of Information request, the two countries agreed to carry out a complete and timely exchange of data from cooperation activities and meet about differences in data management and access plans within 60 days of a dispute mechanism being triggered.
UK Research and Innovation also told Reuters it was “actively engaged in discussions with Chinese research funders” about China’s data laws and would “share guidance” with research grant applicants “where necessary and appropriate”.
Some observers are hopeful of change. “In the present ongoing approach between the EU and China, due to the US situation, there is an opportunity for pushing China to relax its rules,” Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General of the League of European Research Universities, told Reuters.
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