I’m not clear on what it is a university student can steal.
Picture a student at MIT or CalTECH. The Chinese will steal anything not bolted down.
Ask yourself, what, if anything, have the Chinese actually invented in recent history? The steal and copy everything.
There is a huge cache of information that is publicly available. Just by reading trade magazines, the Chinese can probably get at least 70% of everything they need.
They would only need a few sophisticated spies to get the other 30%.
I don't know what these Chinese students can steal. But they sure do influence the grading curve in science classes.
Quick story. I once worked as a university security guard. I liked the holiday shifts because they were time and a half. The campus was empty, except for the Chines students. They were still hard at work in the labs and in the research libraries. No fooling around or down time with them.
Some defense projects begin in universities with students.
It would be research.