Confucius institutes are Chinese government-funded centers on college campuses in the U.S. and throughout the world, whose publicly stated aim is to promote knowledge of Chinese language and culture. 

According to the multiple USGOV agencies, Confucius Institutes serve as propaganda centers used by China to project soft power abroad.

In 2018, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing FBI is investigating scores of Chinese government-funded Confucius Institutes around the country over concerns the institutes are part of covert spying operations. 

Earlier this year, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa urged colleges, universities and school districts with known active Confucius Institutes on campus to request an FBI briefing to fully understand the academic research and national security threats posed by the Chinese government-backed organizations operating on campus.

The U.S. is not alone.

A 2013 Canadian Security Intel Service report described the Confucius Institute program as a 'Trojan Horse' to spy on Canadian intelligence.

Similar assessments have been made by a host of other nations, including Australia, the U.K., Germany, Sweden and others.

At present, there are 66 Confucius Institutes at American colleges and universities, including UCLA, Purdue, Stanford, George Washington University, Wesleyan, Michigan State, Tufts, UNC Charlotte, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Temple, Columbia and several campuses of the University of California. 

There are also 7 Confucius Institutes at K-12 public school districts across the U.S., which include approximately 500 “Confucius Classrooms.”

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Designation of the Confucius Institute U.S. Center
as a Foreign Mission of the PRC

PRESS STATEMENT

MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE

AUGUST 13, 2020

The Trump Administration has made it a priority to seek fair and reciprocal treatment from the People’s Republic of China. For more than four decades, Beijing has enjoyed free and open access to U.S. society, while denying that same access to Americans and other foreigners in China. Furthermore, the PRC has taken advantage of America’s openness to undertake large scale and well-funded propaganda efforts and influence operations in this country.

Today, the Department of State designated the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a foreign mission of the PRC, recognizing CIUS for what it is: an entity advancing Beijing’s global propaganda and malign influence campaign on U.S. campuses and K-12 classrooms. Confucius Institutes are funded by the PRC and part of the Chinese Communist Party’s global influence and propaganda apparatus.

The goal of these actions is simple: to ensure that American educators and school administrators can make informed choices about whether these CCP-backed programs should be allowed to continue, and if so, in what fashion. Universities around the country and around the world are examining the Confucius Institutes’ curriculum and the scope of Beijing’s influence in their education systems. The United States wants to ensure that students on U.S. campuses have access to Chinese language and cultural offerings free from the manipulation of the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies.