London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

University of Texas in FBI probe over claims Chinese government tried to illegally obtain coronavirus research

University of Texas in FBI probe over claims Chinese government tried to illegally obtain coronavirus research

Staff told in an email that it was notified of the investigation last week, and researchers would be contacted about alleged role of the Houston consulate. Work by some of its scientists has contributed to some promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates

An American university whose work has contributed to some promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates has been contacted by the FBI over allegations that the Chinese consulate in Houston had sought to obtain such research.

The University of Texas told faculty and research staff in an email on Monday that it was notified of the investigation by the FBI last week. FBI agents would contact university researchers about the alleged role of the consulate and “efforts by the Chinese government to illegally procure research from American universities, including coronavirus vaccine research”, according to the email seen by the South China Morning Post. It described this as part of an “evolving national situation”.

“We want to make you aware of an ongoing and evolving national situation that may affect some members of our research community,” read the email, which was signed by Dan Jaffe, the university’s interim executive vice-president, and Alison Preston, interim vice-president for research.

The email said the university did not know whom the FBI intended to contact or what they planned to discuss, and it had not shared anyone’s information or details about the ongoing research with FBI agents.

The university could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

As relations rapidly deteriorate between Beijing and Washington, the US government has alleged China’s Houston consulate was a nest of Chinese spies who stole trade and technology secrets from facilities in Texas, and ordered it to close last week.

Beijing shut down the US mission in Chengdu in retaliation, accusing some US diplomats of engaging in activities that were not compatible with their status and harming China’s national security interests.

Work by some University of Texas researchers has contributed to the development of some front-runner Covid-19 vaccine candidates.

Some of these vaccines work by training the immune system to recognise the spike protein on the surface of Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, to trigger an immune response.

A team led by Jason McLellan, an associate professor in the university’s department of molecular biosciences, designed a synthetic spike protein that has been used in two vaccine candidates – one developed by Moderna and another by Novavax. Both are undergoing clinical trials in the US.

A key member of McLellan’s team is a research associate from China, Wang Nianshuang, who identified the genetic mutations that stabilise the shape-shifting spike protein for the coronavirus, according to previous statements issued by the university.

It comes after the US Justice Department this month indicted two Chinese nationals in connection with long-running cyber espionage operations targeting information including on vaccine development on behalf of the Chinese intelligence service.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying flatly rejected the accusation, saying the claim was “just absurd” at a daily briefing. She said China was already “leading the world” in vaccine research and development and didn’t need to “secure an edge by theft”.

Six Covid-19 vaccine candidates developed by Chinese companies are currently going through human trials.

In recent years, the US has accused China of transferring sensitive technology by enlisting Chinese researchers working in America, and they have come under close scrutiny in the country.

The US charged four Chinese nationals with visa fraud this month, for allegedly lying about their military ties during the visa application process and amid allegations of Chinese theft of US intellectual property.

Last week, a Chinese postdoctoral researcher with the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Centre at New York University had her phone and computer confiscated at the airport as she left the country because of a change in visa policy, the centre’s director, Benjamin Neel, wrote on Twitter.

While the University of Texas email did not specify the target of the investigation, it alluded that foreign researchers could be affected as it assured them their work was valued.

“As we’ve said before, our international scholars are a vital part of our research community,” the email said. “You enrich our environment and are critical to our teams’ success.”

It also reminded them that it was not unusual for federal law enforcement officers to ask to speak with researchers “if deemed necessary to support criminal or national security investigations”.

The university also asked researchers to report to the university’s security office if they received “a phishing attempt or any other suspicious or unsolicited email from a foreign company or entity”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×