This change ensures the project remains sustainable and protects the integrity of our work in a landscape where independent research is often republished by others. Our goal is to ensure the China Defence Universities Tracker (CDUT) continues to serve the public interest while also meeting the needs of those who rely on it for policy, procurement, investment and security decisions. The paywall allows us to keep delivering high-quality, evidence-based research with the depth and regular updates that our users expect.  

The 2025 expansion added around 20 new institutions and major updates to more than 60 existing profiles. It introduces global and national critical-technology research rankings for over 40 universities using exclusive ASPI data, expands coverage of China’s partnerships with Russian research bodies and state-owned defence conglomerates, and includes detailed profiles of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and its affiliates. The update also examines international joint-venture universities, maps the rapid growth of dual-use research centres linked to major Chinese technology companies, and revises risk ratings to reflect the increasing scale of defence-related research across China’s university system. 

You can choose between access to the CDUT or a combined CDUT + Critical Technology Tracker (CTT) licence. Each seat equals one individual licence, and licences can be purchased individually or in bulk packages, with per-seat pricing decreasing at higher volumes. An organisation-wide licence is also available and applies per domain, providing unlimited access for all users under that verified email domain. This licence includes Single Sign On (SSO) integration with your IT system for seamless access.

Licences can be purchased by a single organisation or on behalf of a consortium to provide subsidised access to multiple organisations and their users. For custom licence arrangements, please contact sales@aspi.org.au with your requirements.

You can pay annually upfront by card or invoice or choose monthly instalments (card only) with an annual commitment. Use the toggle on the top right of this page to switch between monthly and annual options and pricing.  

Currently, we are only offering demos to customers interested in the unlimited licence tier or with custom requirements. If this suits you, please reach out to us via sales@aspi.org.au with any requirements you have for a demo. We have also made three institutions available for free to get a sense and feel of the updated tracker. You can check them out here: Harbin Institute of Technology, Peking University, Shanghai University. We will also be producing demo videos and sharing these with everyone who has expressed interest.

Beginning in 2026, ASPI will provide regular updates that will include adding Hong Kong universities to the list of institutions, adding new insights to China’s officially designated military institutions, and adding additional research to existing institutions in the CDUT.

The CDUT assigns each institution a risk level of low, medium, high or very high, based on its proximity to China’s military and security apparatus. The assessment draws on publicly available data, including Chinese-language government and university sources, and considers factors such as supervision by China’s defence industry ministry, defence-linked research topics, defence laboratories, partnerships with the defence industry, and any past involvement in espionage or export-control violations. The ratings are not a blacklist but a decision-support tool to help users assess potential risks in international research collaboration. Read more: Risk rating methodology

Data for the Tracker is open-source, primarily using online Chinese-language resources from universities and Chinese government agencies, as well as media reports and foreign government websites. Research for the Tracker focused on identifying key indicators of defence and security links at each university and developing reliable methods for evaluating those links. Institutions were included in the project for their military links, security links or known connection to human rights abuses or espionage.  Read more: Methodology

Following the launch of our ‘access’ tier subscription, we will be expanding our offerings to better service our audience’ needs based on market demand. If you’re in need of a custom feature, integration, or service, please contact us with the details at sales@aspi.org.au and we’ll get back to you.