A new Strategy Risks report alleges that Missouri State University has trained Chinese defense-linked executives, government officials, and state-owned enterprise personnel through China-focused MBA and EMBA programs for more than two decades, with U.S. taxpayer support.
The report, titled “Heartland for Hire,” says the Missouri public university operated a pipeline that had trained more than 1,500 current and future managers for Chinese state-owned enterprises and government bodies by 2018.
Strategy Risks said some graduates went on to senior roles in China’s defense industry, strategic supply chains, and surveillance-technology sector, including at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, known as AVIC.
The taxpayer-support claim is disputed. Strategy Risks based its estimate on Chinese recruiting materials and Missouri State records, not on public U.S. records confirming taxpayer payments. The report says no public U.S. record confirms that taxpayer money was paid….