Canberra considers axing Victorian research agreement with China Normal text size Advertisement The federal government is considering tearing up a research agreement between the Victorian government and China's Jiangsu province that experts say could allow the work of Australian scientists to be used by the Chinese government. The deal, signed by the Labor state government in 2015 and renewed in 2019, provides grants of up to $200,000 for Victorian companies and universities to share intellectual property and develop new products with companies from the Chinese province. Workers in Jiangsu province. The deal links Victorian businesses and universities with Chinese counterparts in the province.