A new report by congressional Republicans asserts that partnerships between the U.S. and China at universities over the past decade have allowed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to aid Beijing in developing critical technology that could be used for military purposes.

The rules, if confirmed, would mark the latest escalation of a simmering trade row between the U.S. and China.

House Republicans argue in a new congressional report that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding over the last decade has contributed to China’s technological advancements.

A House committee investigation discovered more than 2,000 research papers published in the past decade indicating researchers receiving U.S. federal funding collaborated with Chinese researchers, leading to advances in China’s military technology.

China is exploiting U.S. government-funded research and partnerships between American and Chinese universities — including some with explicit links to the Chinese military — to gain “back-door access” to insights on advanced technology breakthroughs,