Swedish universities call for increased collaboration with China

The vice-chancellors called for Sweden to strengthen its academic ties with China in a joint opinion piece in Svenska Dagbladet.

China's investments in research and development in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum technology and renewable energy have, the chancellors argued, led to China catching up to the US when it comes to technological research.

"If collaboration with China does not develop in specific areas, Europe risks its economic development, long-term security and could end up a scientific backwater," they wrote.

They added that there are possible risks with collaborating with China, but that there are some "neutral areas" like sustainable technology where these risks could be avoided.

The four vice-chancellors behind the opinion piece are Martin Nilsson Jacobi from Chalmers, Anders Söderholm from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Erik Renström from Lund University and Anders Hagfeldt from Uppsala University.