Chinese researchers at a conference in Kristiansand may pose a security risk

The University of Agder (UiA) is co-organiser of the research conference ICIEA 2024, which takes place in Kristiansand at the beginning of August. The main organizer is the IEEE Industrial Electronics Chapter of Singapore.

The topics for the conference include artificial intelligence, robotics and network and communication technology.

Fædrelandsvennen has reviewed the website for the conference and identified at least 24 participants associated with Chinese research institutions known for their close ties to the country’s defense, the defense industry, the country’s Communist Party or the security and intelligence services.

– It is easy for this to just become a security issue. For us, this is about scientific collaboration in which it is important for our researchers to participate, says information manager Jan Arve Olsen at UiA.

He states that they have approached both PST and the Ministry of Education for advice, and have been referred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is currently unclear whether the conference will nevertheless be held with UiA as co-organiser. The conference will not take place on campus.

PST does not wish to comment on the conference itself, but has long warned against Chinese intelligence threats in Norway.

“The accusations from certain Norwegian institutions are nothing more than baseless slander and defamation”, writes the Chinese embassy in an email to the newspaper.