Report Exposes University’s Deep Ties
A new report is raising questions about a long-running partnership between Missouri State University and Chinese institutions, alleging that the publicly funded university helped educate hundreds of managers who later served in China's state-owned enterprises, government agencies, and defense industry.
According to a report released by Strategy Risks, Missouri State University's international MBA program trained more than 1,500 current and future managers connected to Chinese state-owned enterprises and government bodies by 2018. The report contends that the program provided advanced business education to individuals who went on to hold senior positions in organizations tied to China's military, surveillance sector, and strategic industries.
Strategy Risks also estimates that U.S. taxpayer support for the program amounted to tens of millions of dollars. The estimate is based on recruiting materials from China Agricultural University and other publicly available documents, although the report acknowledges that financial records surrounding the program contain inconsistencies. Different recruiting materials describe varying tuition costs, subsidy arrangements, and payment structures, making it difficult to determine precisely how the program was funded.
Missouri State University disputes the report's conclusions.
"We are aware of the report released by Strategy Risks regarding Missouri State University," a university spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "No taxpayer dollars were directed toward the program, as the report alleges but readily admits it cannot substantiate."
The university also emphasized that students participated in a standard graduate business curriculum.
"As the report further acknowledges, the students studied a conventional business curriculum with no evidence of espionage, intellectual property theft, misconduct, false affiliations or complaints of harassment," the spokesperson said. "Students admitted to the program were required to comply with all student visa regulations administered by the U.S. State Department."
Among the report's most notable findings is the participation of employees from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, better known as AVIC. By 2015, Strategy Risks says that 107 finance personnel from companies within the AVIC system had completed the Missouri State MBA program.
AVIC serves as China's primary state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense designated AVIC as a "Communist Chinese military company," and a subsequent executive order prohibited Americans from owning securities in companies included on that list.
The report identifies one graduate who completed the MBA program in 2013 while serving as a senior manager at AVIC International Financial Leasing Co. He later became the company's Party Secretary, Chairman, and legal representative.
Strategy Risks argues that AVIC viewed the MBA program less as a source of specialized business instruction and more as a credentialing opportunity for rising executives. While participants studied traditional business topics, the report suggests that earning an American graduate degree carried significant value within China's state-owned enterprise system.
The report also links former graduates to China's technology sector. One participant who graduated in 2010 later became a director and vice president at a major Chinese artificial intelligence and voice-recognition company. That company was added to the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List in 2019 over allegations that its technology supported surveillance programs targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China's Xinjiang region.
Strategy Risks further alleges that admission into the MBA program was heavily influenced by Chinese Communist Party organizations. According to recruiting materials cited in the report, candidates were expected to be Communist Party members approved for overseas travel, while party-affiliated institutions assembled student cohorts, sponsored applicants, and prepared them for enrollment.
The partnership dates back more than two decades. According to the report, officials from China's former State Economic and Trade Commission visited the United States in 1999 seeking MBA programs capable of training government and state-enterprise managers. Missouri State launched its program in 2001.
The report also highlights former Missouri State Vice President Jim Baker, who reportedly visited China more than 100 times on behalf of the university. In 2012, Baker received China's Friendship Award, an honor presented to foreign nationals who have made contributions to the country's development. Strategy Risks argues that the award has also been used to cultivate relationships with foreign individuals viewed as advancing Chinese state interests.
According to the report, Chinese university websites continued promoting the MBA partnership as recently as July 2024.
Missouri State University also maintains an academic partnership with Liaoning Normal University, established in 2000 with approval from both the university's Board of Governors and China's Ministry of Education. Under that agreement, qualifying students may transfer to Missouri State to complete their degrees, and the partnership remains active.