Berlin: The education minister of Germany demanded a revision of the policies governing student exchanges with China on Saturday, citing a rise in the threat of scientific espionage posed by Chinese students who travel to Germany to pursue their studies on full state scholarships.

"China is becoming more and more competitive and is a systemic rival in the domain of science and research," Bettina Stark-Watzinger stated in an interview published on Saturday by the Mediengruppe Bayern.

The minister applauded the Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) in Bavaria for its decision to stop accepting Chinese students whose only source of funding is the government-run China Scholarship Council (CSC). The university frequently collaborates on research projects with German industry.

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These scholarship recipients are reportedly required to sign a loyalty oath to the Chinese government or risk legal action, according to recent reports from Deutsche Welle and the investigative platform Correctiv.

Stark-Watzinger applauded the German university for its decision, stating that it was driven by "the realisation that the CSC scholarship recipients cannot fully exercise the freedom of opinion and scientific freedom anchored in German Basic Law due to the conditions of their scholarships and there also exists an increased risk of scientific espionage."

She said that other institutions should review the conditions of their cooperation with the CSC in light of the FAU decision.

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Germany's tougher stance towards China in the middle of July, when it published a 64-page strategy in response to a "more assertive" China, infuriated Beijing.
The document, which addresses both security policy and cooperative economic and scientific efforts, was the result of months of internal debate about Germany's approach to China.

Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, tweeted on Thursday that Berlin had "reacted to a China that has changed and become more assertive," and that his country wanted to lessen its reliance on Beijing economically in crucial areas.

Beijing claimed that the new strategy would "exacerbate divisions" and raise "man-made risks" globally.

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German industry, which has become more and more dependent on China, is fearful in response to Berlin's tougher stance.

Corporate behemoths like Volkswagen and Siemens have recently revealed growth plans that heavily depend on the Chinese market.