Pentagon designates Confucius Institutes in US a national security threat

The US Department of Defense has designated Chinese-funded cultural centres on university campuses, known as Confucius Institutes, as a threat to US national security, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday.

Washington has long accused Confucius Institutes of serving as Chinese propaganda tools and has taken steps to crack down on them.

In a video posted on social media, Hegseth alleged that Confucius Institutes were operating under different identities at US universities. He said the Pentagon had added them to its list of institutions considered threats to national security.

“It turns out 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,” Hegseth said.

He added that the Defence Department had “systematically dismantled every single one of these organizations” over the past two months.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Credit: Reuters