China says hi-tech study tours targeted by foreign governments

China’s top anti-espionage agency has outlined security risks in overseas study tours, citing cases in which teachers and students in key tech sectors have been subjected to border entry scrutiny and approached by spies.

In an article posted on its official WeChat account on Tuesday, the Ministry of State Security said “certain countries” had imposed strict entry inspections on Chinese university faculty and students, especially those in critical fields such as advanced technology, national defence and biomedical sciences.

The inspections often involved questions about professional expertise and data, and in some cases compulsory inspection of personal electronic devices, it said.

Without naming any country, the article cited a case in which two students were subjected to extended questioning by officials in an airport because they had arrived a few days after fellow members of a study tour group because of ticketing problems. They were detained and interrogated about their identities, backgrounds, and reasons for entry, before being allowed into the country.

These kinds of short-term study-abroad tours have gained popularity in recent years, with students spending one or two weeks during their summer or winter holidays, according to Chinese media, with Singapore, the United States, Britain and Australia among popular destinations.

Beijing has previously complained about Chinese students being mistreated by US border authorities.

In January, Beijing’s embassy in Washington accused US authorities of “unwarrantedly” interrogating, harassing, cancelling the visas of and even deporting several students from China with valid travel permits on arriving at Dulles International Airport near the US capital.