Commentary: EU Shuts China Out of Science Projects, but Europe Will Pay the Price
Listen to the full version
On April 3, the European Union officially announced that starting in 2026, Chinese research institutions will be excluded from the core areas of its Horizon Europe program. The 95.5 billion euro initiative — the world’s largest scientific funding program — is closing its doors to China in critical fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, semiconductors, and biotechnology.
Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations.
Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one.
- DIGEST HUB
Digest Hub
Back
- EU to exclude Chinese institutions from Horizon Europe core areas (AI, quantum, semiconductors, biotech) starting 2026, limiting to non-sensitive fields like climate.
- EU's commercialization weakness evident: 1.2% GDP corporate R&D, 109 unicorns vs. global 1,453; China leads in AI/6G patents, manufacturing.
- Past exclusions spurred China's Beidou/Tiangong; urges China to attract EU talent openly.
1. [para. 1] On April 3, the EU announced that from 2026, Chinese institutions are excluded from core Horizon Europe areas like AI, quantum tech, semiconductors, and biotech in its 95.5 billion euro program, the world's largest scientific funding initiative.
2. [para. 2] Under a "restricting high-risk areas" principle, Chinese entities can join only non-sensitive fields like climate and biodiversity; the EU cites research security, but it's seen as defensive decoupling fragmenting global science.
3. [para. 3] Chinese observers note short-term impacts like lost funding and disrupted exchanges, but deeper analysis shows EU anxiety from Europe's strength in basic research but weakness in engineering and commercialization.
4. [para. 4] EU logic flawed: blocking China in its strong areas like AI patents (world's largest) and 6G leadership severs Europe from top research, per EU assessments—strategic self-harm.
5. [para. 5] Europe's commercialization crisis: OECD stats show EU corporate R&D at 1.2% GDP vs. US 2.3% and China 2.6%; fragmentation hinders knowledge flow, as admitted by European Commission.
6. [para. 6] EU has only 109 of 1,453 global unicorns; excluding China won't fix lab-to-market issues.
7. [para. 7] China offers full supply chains, 2,400+ pilot platforms, 1.4B consumer market for tech commercialization needing scenarios and data; without it, Europe's frontier tech deployment slows and costs rise.
8. [para. 8] Amid global rule competition, EU seeks to impose high-risk area rules geopolitically, facing resistance.
9. [para. 9] Sociologist Joy Zhang says EU IP concerns valid but response misguided—IP theft more in companies than basic research; Nature warns exclusion delays Europe's progress, urges dropping barriers.
10. [para. 10] Past blockades backfired: EU's Galileo exclusion spurred China's Beidou; ISS ban led to Tiangong station.
11. [para. 11] Ji Wu, ex-China-EU mission leader, says deep cooperation hard now, but EU policy harms Europe more, isolating it.
12. [para. 12] China should respond openly, attracting suspended EU talent in quantum, AI, biotech with manufacturing access Europe lacks.
13. [para. 13] Openness asserts discourse power; best collaborators and commercialization paths win global tech governance.
14. [para. 14] Author: Zhang Mengting, Ningbo University researcher on China-CEEC trade.
15. [para. 15] Views are author's, not necessarily Caixin's.
- PODCAST
- MOST POPULAR
Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook
Sign in with 财新