Chinese Talent Plans Brought to Light With Science Agency Probe of Professor

Professor’s Alleged Role in China Programs Leads to Ban From US Funding Tao Li failed to disclose participation in Chinese talent plans while helping to award US research money, probe concludes. A professor managed US funding of computer science research for more than two years while failing to disclose that he was simultaneously involved in Chinese government programs, according to previously unreported documents reviewed by Bloomberg News. The professor, Tao Li, was a program officer at the National Science Foundation from 2015 to 2017, a job that included overseeing the awarding of grants for research in areas such as hardware, software and algorithms. During that time, Li participated in two Chinese talent plans, according to a report by the NSF’s Office of Inspector General. The FBI has warned that such plans can incentivize members to steal or misappropriate foreign knowledge or technology. In addition, Li was involved in awarding US research grants to at least seven other scientists who also allegedly failed to disclose their participation in one of the Chinese talent plans, called Dragon Star, according to a separate set of documents detailing US national security concerns with Li and such plans. The FBI first flagged its concerns about Li’s suspected involvement in Dragon Star to NSF leadership in 2019, according to a former CIA analyst who said he participated in the meeting. The inspector general’s office began an investigation based on the tip, but it would be about seven years from the time of the FBI briefing before the probe concluded and the NSF took action based on its findings. The Justice Department declined a referral for a criminal prosecution in 2024, according to the report. The NSF in May banned Li from federal funding for six years, according to communications reviewed by Bloomberg. The agency didn’t announce the ban, though there is an entry on the government website sam.gov for Li’s debarment. By the time the NSF made its decision, Li had already embarked on a new pursuit: at a military-affiliated university in central China, where he now runs an artificial intelligence research center. Reached by email, Li said the grants given to the other scientists who participated in the talent plan were awarded “based on the merits,” and were “recommended and concurred by the entire panel” involved in the process. “During my tenure as an NSF Program Director, I diligently fulfilled my responsibilities—including proposal reviews, funding award management, and annual report evaluations—alongside my colleagues, never once facing any complaints or objections,” Li said in an email to Bloomberg. The details surrounding the US’s investigation into Li and subsequent decision to ban him from federal funding, as well as his current status in China, haven’t been previously reported. Bloomberg reviewed more than 30 documents dating back a decade that the NSF inspector general had compiled for its investigation into Li. The documents were provided to Bloomberg by the House Select Committee on China, which is doing a broader investigation into government bans on scientists. Bloomberg also reviewed other documents laying out the government’s national security concerns about Li and Chinese talent programs. “This case represents one of the most egregious research security failures uncovered to date,” said House China committee Chairman John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican. “It is a stark reminder that our adversaries will exploit vulnerabilities wherever they exist, including within the institutions responsible for safeguarding federal research.”