Harbin Institute of Technology

Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) is designated very high risk for its top-secret security credentials, high number of defence laboratories and defence research areas, inclusion in various entity and sanctions lists, strong defence industry ties and links to economic espionage. The university is also a central node in Sino-Russian science and technology cooperation.

HIT is one of China’s top defence research universities. As one of seven universities run by MIIT, it’s known as one of the ‘Seven Sons of National Defence’ (国防七子), which all have close relationships with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and are core training and research facilities for China’s defence industry.

HIT is widely recognised for its strengths in aerospace, robotics, advanced materials, manufacturing and information technology. According to Chinese state media, the university has taken ‘defence technology innovation and weapons and equipment modernisation as its core’, achieving internationally advanced results in several key research areas. ^[1]

In 2018, according to the university’s official noticeboard, HIT spent Ұ1.97 billion (A$400 million) on defence research, which amounts to more than half of its total research budget. ^[2]

Defence conglomerates China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and China Electronics and Technology Group Corporation (CETC) rank among the top employers of HIT graduates. ^[3] Providing talent for national defence is highlighted as an important part of the university’s employment work.5 According to HIT (Shenzhen)’s latest employment report, more than 20% of the 340 graduates who had signed employment contracts as of 31 August 2023 took positions with aerospace and defence organisations such as CASC, CASIC and  AVIC, underscoring the university’s continuing role as a talent pipeline for China’s defence sector. ^[4]

The university is also a major source of cyber talent and receives funding for information security research from the Ministry of State Security, China’s civilian intelligence agency. A report prepared for the US–China Security and Economic Review Commission identified it as one of four universities focused on research with applications in information warfare. ^[5] In 2003, HIT founded its own Information Countermeasures Technology Research Institute (哈尔滨工业大学信息对抗技术研究所). ^[6]

HIT’s leadership has explicitly framed the university’s broader mission around ‘serving national defence’ and ‘excelling in engineering’, positioning it as ‘China’s First Aerospace University’ (中国航天第一校). ^[7] In recent years, HIT has contributed key components to major space missions such as the Zhurong Mars rover, Chang’e lunar landings and Tiangong-2 space laboratory. It has also pioneered China’s first university-built small satellite and first space–ground laser communication system, showcasing its excellence in the aerospace field. ^[8]

Other areas of defence research at HIT include nuclear technology, nuclear combustion, nuclear power engineering and electronic propulsion and thruster technology, many of which are officially designated as skill shortage areas for the Chinese defence industry. ^[9] Other areas of HIT’s focus on defence include quantum computing and communications, military-grade materials, AI and uncrewed systems. ^[10]

In September 2023, SASTIND’s Liu Jing (刘敬) led a delegation to HIT, urging a focus on choke-point technologies. ^[11] On 22 February 2025, General Yang Xuejun (杨学军), President of the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences, also visited HIT to expand joint research and PhD training. ^[12]

HIT has a close relationship with CASC, which specialises in long-range ballistic missile and satellite technology. ^[13] Since 2008, HIT and CASC have operated a joint research centre. ^[14]

HIT began streamlining its degree portfolio earlier than most defence universities. After a national quality review in 2014, it voluntarily withdrew the professional Master’s in Engineering Management, earning a Ministry-of-Education commendation for ‘quality self-discipline’. ^[15] In 2024, HIT announced adjustments to its degree programs across its Harbin, Weihai and Shenzhen campuses to better align with national strategic priorities and optimise its academic discipline structure. ^[16] None of the university’s 47 defence-labelled fields was cut; they were simply regrouped under larger interdisciplinary umbrellas. ^[17]

• National Defence Key Laboratory of Micro and Small-Scale Spacecraft Technology (微小型航天器技术实验室国防重点学科实验室) ^[18]
• National Defence Key Laboratory of Satellite Laser Communications Technology (卫星激光通信技术实验室国防重点学科实验室) ^[19]
• National Defence Key Laboratory of Deep-space Probe Landing and Return Control Technology (深空探测着陆与返回控制技术国防重点学科实验室) ^[20]
• National Defence Key Laboratory of Spaceflight Space Structure and Control Technology (宇航空间机构及控制技术国防重点学科实验室) ^[21]
• National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Tunable Laser (可调谐(气体)激光国防科技重点实验室/可调谐(气体)激光技术国家级重点实验室) ^[22]
• National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Advanced Composites in Special Environments (特种环境复合材料技术国家级重点实验室/特种环境复合材料技术国防科技重点实验室) ^[23]
• National Defence Science and Technology Key Lab for Space Materials Behaviour and Evaluation (空间环境材料行为与评价技术国家级重点实验室/空间环境材料行为及评价技术国防科技重点实验室) ^[24]
• National Key Laboratory for Precision Hot Forming of Metals (金属精密热加工国家级重点实验室/金属精密热加工国防科技重点实验室) ^[25]
• State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining (先进焊接与连接国家重点实验室/现代焊接生产技术国家重点实验室) ^[26]
• State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems (机器人技术与系统国家重点实验室) ^[27]

HIT was added to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List in June 2020. The announcement of its inclusion stated: ‘Harbin Institute of Technology has sought to use US technology for Chinese missile programs. This activity is contrary to national security and foreign policy interests. ^[28] The designation triggered a presumption-of-denial licence policy for all items subject to US Export Administration Regulations. ^[29]

In 2020, HIT student visas to the US were cancelled after the Trump administration issued Presidential Proclamation 10043, which prohibits PRC students associated with China’s military from receiving F or J visas. ^[30] On 10 September 2020, the US State Department confirmed the revocation of more than 1,000 such visas, many linked to HIT and other defence universities. ^[31]

In March 2023, the US Commerce Department added nine aliases and nine addresses to the entry for Harbin Institute of Technology ^[32] and designated it as a ‘footnote 3’ military end user, expanding controls to include foreign-made items based on US technology.

HIT is included on the U.S. Section 1286 list under the National Defense Authorization Act, which designates foreign institutions engaging in problematic activity such as unwanted technology transfer and talent programs. The Department of Defense states, “Caution is advised for any researcher or institution engaging with institutions on this list.” ^[33]

HIT is included in Japan’s End User List for its involvement in the development of missiles. ^[34] Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reaffirmed this listing in its 5 February 2025 update, with HIT appearing under the ‘Missiles (M)’ category. ^[35]

HIT is also one of the ‘Seven Sons of National Defence’ universities sanctioned by Taiwan in March 2025 due to its involvement in defence and technology development, with academic exchanges now prohibited in order to protect national security. ^[36]

HIT is listed in the January 2024 version of Canada's Named Research Organizations List, which identifies institutions considered to pose the highest national-security risk due to direct or indirect links to military, defence or state security entities. ^[37]

HIT is also on the Flemish Research Foundation’s institutional restrictions list in Belgium, making it ineligible for research partnerships receiving funding from the foundation. ^[38]

HIT has longstanding and deepening ties with Russian institutions. ^[39] The university’s historical connection to Russia dates back to its founding, as it was originally established to train engineers for the Chinese Eastern Railway—a historical railway system built by Russia under concession of the Qing Dinasty—to let it run through China’s northeast. ^[40] During a 2024 visit to HIT, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the university as ‘inseparably connected with Russia’. ^[41]

HIT collaborates closely with leading Russian institutions, including Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Moscow Aviation Institute, Amur State University and St Petersburg State University. It maintains dual-language academic programs and supports joint curriculums and shared training frameworks, including a flagship integrated education program with Bauman.

In 2011, HIT and Bauman Moscow State Technical University created the Association of Sino-Russian Technical Universities, which promotes scientific exchange. ^[42] In 2019, Bauman Moscow State Technical University opened a joint engineering institute at HIT. ^[43] As of 2025, the institute serves 59 undergraduate students who study in both Russia and China. ^[44]

HIT has a longstanding relationship with St Petersburg State University. The two signed a cooperation agreement in 2014, which has resulted in joint research centres. ^[45] In 2019, the universities signed an agreement to create a joint campus, which opened in 2022 and initially offered bachelor-level degrees in chemistry, physics and applied mathematics. ^[46] As of 2023 there were plans to expand to postgraduate programs in AI. ^[47]

HIT is also training more than 1,500 Chinese and Russian students at a new science education centre jointly established with St Petersburg State University, offering instruction in disciplines such as physics, chemistry and mathematics. ^[48]

In 2021, HIT co-founded the China–Russia Advanced Energy and Power Technology Belt and Road Joint Laboratory with the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics. This lab is part of China’s top-tier BRI science cooperation initiatives. ^[49]

In November 2024, HIT led the development and launch of the first Sino-Russian university co-developed microsatellite, the ‘AstroFriendship’ (阿斯图友谊号), a 12U CubeSat launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Developed in partnership with Amur State University and supported by institutions such as NUAA and Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the project was notable for being student-led—over 60% of participants were undergraduates, with students serving as chief and subsystem designers. ^[50]

Also in 2024, HIT signed strategic cooperation agreements with St Petersburg State University, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and the Russian Academy of Engineering, aimed at building joint research centres and integrated degree pathways. The agreements were witnessed by China’s Minister of Education, Huai Jinpeng 怀进鹏, and timed to align with the 75th anniversary of China–Russia diplomatic relations and the 2024–2025 China–Russia Cultural Year. ^[51]

HIT also has a suite of cooperation agreements with Moscow Aviation Institute, including an ongoing cooperation agreement since 2005 and agreements on joint bachelor’s and master’s programs. ^[52] The bachelor’s program covers aircraft engines and aircraft power plants. ^[53] The master’s covers energy installations. ^[54]

HIT ranks in the top 10 institutions in the world for high-impact research in 23 critical technologies, including space launch systems and advanced robotics, according to data from ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker. ^[55]

HIT’s global and national rankings for these technologies are as follows: 

HIT currently hosts 10 MIIT/SASTIND-approved defence-feature discipline directions. ^[56] Those 10 cross-cutting clusters, spanning aerospace vehicle design, propulsion and power systems, navigation–guidance–control, advanced manufacturing, space structures, and information and cybersecurity, form the university’s core contribution to national weapons-system development. 

The previous figure of ‘47 defence disciplines’ referred to an earlier classification system phased out during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–20). That system combined 23 officially designated defence key disciplines with a wider catalogue of defence-labelled majors and program tracks introduced between 2002 and 2010. Those legacy categories were retired as part of a nationwide rationalisation led by MIIT and SASTIND, which capped each of the 53 designated defence universities at 10 recognised defence-feature discipline directions.

Since 2019, HIT has broadened its military research portfolio through new majors such as integrated-circuit science, smart materials, microelectronics and AI, and intelligent equipment, each aligned with emerging national priorities in space systems, uncrewed platforms and sensor technologies. It also hosts major strategic infrastructure, including the Space-Environment Ground Simulation Facility, and its 2023–25 research agenda includes deep-space exploration, aero-engine upgrades, dual-use energy systems and advanced composites. 

HIT has been at the centre of several investigations for its involvement in international norms violations, espionage and misconduct. 

In 2017, a Wall Street Journal investigation uncovered that North Korean PhD students were studying at HIT in apparent violation of 2016 UN sanctions, including Kim Kyong Sol, who co-authored research with military applications in mechatronics after collaborating with a Chinese military space engineer. ^[57]

US court evidence shows that, in 1979, Boeing engineer Dongfan ‘Greg’ Chung mailed proprietary flight-stress manuals to Professor Chen Lung Ku at HIT – a link cited in his 2010 economic-espionage conviction. ^[58]

In 2015, Hu Xiaoxiang (扈晓翔), a PLA Rocket Force scientist also affiliated with HIT, was expelled from Norway after Norwegian authorities determined that his work, which was funded by a Norwegian offshore wind energy research grant, could be used to develop hypersonic cruise missiles. Hu had claimed to be from the Xi’an Research Institute of High Technology—cover for the PLA Rocket Force Engineering University—in order to study and work in Norway. ^[59]

In September 2021, a HIT professor—formerly affiliated with the Van Andel Research Institute in Michigan—was stopped at Detroit Metro Airport carrying undeclared biological research samples. The incident led to a US$1.1 million False Claims Act settlement with VARI over undisclosed foreign ties and alleged sample transfers dating back to 2018. ^[60]

HIT runs a Military–Civil Fusion Research Institute in Beijing (哈尔滨工业大学军民融合研究院（北京）). ^[61]

HIT’s Reliability Institute of Electric Apparatus and Electronics (电器与电子可靠性研究所), previously known as the Military-use Electric Apparatus and Vehicle Electronics Institute (军用电器和车辆电器研究所), hosts the Heilongjiang Province Key Laboratory on Electric Apparatus and Electronics Reliability Technology (电器与电子可靠性技术黑龙江省重点实验室). ^[62]

HIT’s student-career site posted a March 2025 campus-recruitment notice for PLA Unit 63839. The brochure for the event (mirrored on Sohu) advertises aerospace- and AI-focused research roles that promise access to national key-laboratory platforms, annual per-capita R&D budgets of more than Ұ1 million (≈ A$215,000) and pre-tax salaries for high-level talent of Ұ600,000–1 million (≈ A$129,000–215,000). ^[63]

In January 2024, HIT and a PLA Strategic Support Force unit opened an on-campus ‘National Defence Talent Training Base’, creating a dedicated pipeline for Strategic Support Force (SSF) recruitment. ^[64]

Also in January 2024, HIT signed a strategic-technology framework with China Electronics and Technology Group Corporation (CETC) to co-develop ‘key core technologies’ for defence electronics and joint talent programs. ^[65]

In February 2025, China’s National Defense S&T Industry Bureau named HIT’s contributions to the Chang’e-6 robotic sampler among its 2024 ‘Top Ten National Defence S&T Industry News’. ^[66]

In June 2019, HIT signed a strategic cooperation framework with CNNC-23 Construction Company to collaborate on robotics, intelligent equipment and talent cultivation for China’s nuclear-engineering projects. ^[67]

On 17 December 2024, HIT and CNNC Innovation & Technology Company signed a strategic cooperation agreement focused on intelligent manufacturing and intelligent construction, deepening their partnership. ^[68]

Since November 2008, HIT and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) have operated the CASC–HIT United Technology Innovation Centre, funded at Ұ10 million per year for aerospace R&D. ^[69]

HIT and CASC also co-built the national Space Environment Simulation ‘Ground Space Station’, a large-scale vacuum-and-radiation test facility that entered service in 2023. ^[70]

In May 2010, HIT and the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) agreed to create five joint laboratories covering rapid-response flight vehicles, guidance and control, thermal protection, equipment manufacturing, and automotive electronics. ^[71]

The partnership was renewed in January 2022 with a pledge to set up new-concept technology joint labs and expand co-recruitment of researchers. ^[72]

In September 2013, HIT’s State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining and AVIC Chengdu Aircraft launched a joint lab for aerospace welding and joining technology. ^[73]

On 21 May 2025, HIT and AVIC’s Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute unveiled a joint technology centre aimed at next-generation aircraft R&D. ^[74]

On 14 May 2021, HIT and the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) formed a comprehensive strategic alliance under the national ‘Two Engines’ program, supported by multiple joint innovation centres on composites, bearings, sheetmetal forming and precision alloys. ^[75]

On 6 December 2023, HIT and China Electronics Corporation (CEC) signed a strategic cooperation framework to build joint platforms in cybersecurity, AI and digital infrastructure. ^[76]

In 2024, HIT’s Fault-Tolerant and Mobile Computing Research Centre launched a joint research project with the 709 Research Institute focused on dual-layer scheduling technologies for real-time virtualisation on domestic platforms. ^[77]

During 2023, Norinco Group and China South Industries Group each concluded high-level agreements with HIT to expand joint R&D platforms and structured talent programs in advanced ammunition and defence equipment.

HIT maintains a broad portfolio of international collaborations.

In 2016, HIT signed a letter of intent with the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology to jointly establish the Shenzhen International College of Astronautics.  In March 2025, HIT and Italy’s Politecnico di Torino opened an International Joint Laboratory on Green & Low-Carbon Urban Regeneration and launched a MOE-approved ‘Co-run Program in Smart Building & Construction’, granting dual degrees. ^[78]

In Australia, HIT has partnered with RMIT University to establish a Joint International Laboratory for Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), embedding solar technologies into building materials. ^[79]

HIT maintains a dual-degree and postgraduate pathway program with the University of Manchester, creating a pipeline for students to pursue advanced studies in the UK. ^[80]

In May 2025, HIT–Shenzhen and City University of Macau set up a Joint Lab for Trust & Intelligent Data to research secure AI applications for critical-infrastructure sectors in the Greater Bay Area. ^[81]

In July 2024, HIT spearheaded a 29-member global alliance of universities to collaborate on moon-base technologies under the UN-backed International Moon Day framework. ^[82]

Since 2020, HIT has been a partner in the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie ‘DORNA’ project (grant 872001), which focuses on high-reliability motor drives and runs until October 2025. ^[83]