Revealed: Huawei’s Oxbridge millions

British universities have received twice as much funding from Huawei as previous estimates suggest, according to new figures obtained by The Spectator. Freedom of Information requests sent by Steerpike show that a further £28.7 million has been received from the Chinese tech giant by nine leading UK universities, on top of the sums identified in a landmark report by the China Research Group in June. By far the biggest recipient of donations and research grants is Cambridge University which has taken £25.7 million from Huawei alone since 2016.

Huawei has been banned from participating in Britain’s 5G network from 2027 amid security concerns. Last year MPs on the Commons Defence Select Committee claimed in a report that Huawei is ‘strongly linked to the Chinese state and the Chinese Communist Party despite its statements to the contrary’, citing its ownership model and the subsidies it has received. The Chinese telecoms giant has repeatedly denied that it is controlled or linked to the Chinese regime.