The U.S. will sound the alarm on Chinese biotech

[New Sancai Compilation First Release] The U.S. Congress issued a warning about the United States’ failure to compete with China in the field of biotechnology and warned that U.S. national security and commercial interests are at risk.

Biotechnology promises to revolutionize daily life, with scientists and researchers using it to make rapid advances in medical care, agricultural genetic engineering, and new biomaterials. Because of its potential, it has attracted the attention of the Chinese and American governments.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have introduced bills that would ban "foreign adversary biotech companies of concern" from doing business with federally funded health care providers. The bills name four Chinese-owned companies.

The National Security Committee on Emerging Biotechnologies, established by the U.S. Senate to review the industry, said the bill would help protect the data of the federal government and U.S. citizens and would prevent unfair competition from Chinese companies.

The committee warned that advances in biotechnology would not only bring economic benefits but also lead to rapid changes in military capabilities and tactics.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on Chinese Communist Party, said the stakes are high. Gallagher introduced a House version of the bill and led a congressional delegation to Boston last week to meet with biotech executives.

"This is not just a supply chain battle or a national security battle or an economic security battle; I think this is a moral and ethical battle," Gallagher said. “Just as the industry is growing at an astronomical pace, the country that wins the competition will set ethical standards around how these technologies are used.”

He believes that the United States must "set the rules" and if it does not do so, "we will live in a less free and less moral world."

The United States and China, the world's two largest economies, both view biotechnology as a key national interest.

The Biden administration has proposed a "whole-of-government approach" to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing, which are important for health, climate change, energy, food security, agriculture and supply chain resiliency. The stated goal is to maintain U.S. technological leadership and economic competitiveness.

The Chinese government plans to establish a "national strategic science and technology force" in the field of biotechnology, whose mission is to achieve breakthroughs and help China achieve "technological independence" (mainly to get rid of the shackles of the United States).

Anna Puglisi, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, worries about Beijing's lack of transparency and unfair market practices. "Competition is one thing. Unfair competition is another," she said.

Puglisi described BGI, a major Chinese biotech company named in both House and Senate bills, as a "national champion" in a "system that blurs private and public, civilian and military." receive state subsidies and preferential treatment. "

"This system exploits researchers, academic and commercial entities to advance national goals, creating market distortions and undermining global scientific norms," Puglisi said.

BGI, which emphasizes its private ownership, offers genetic testing kits and popular prenatal screening tests to detect Down syndrome and other diseases. U.S. lawmakers say they worry the data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.

The U.S. Department of Defense has classified BGI as a Chinese military company, and the Commerce Department has blacklisted it on human rights grounds, arguing that BGI's technology could aid surveillance.

In raising concerns about BGI, the National Committee on the Safety of Emerging Biotechnologies said the company was required to share data with the Chinese government, cooperated with the Chinese military and received significant funding and support from the Chinese government.

The committee said state subsidies enable BGI to provide genome sequencing services at highly competitive prices. Once in the hands of the Chinese government, genomic data "represents a strategic asset with privacy, security, economic and ethical implications," the report said.

Chinese pharmaceutical and medical device company WuXi AppTec is also mentioned in the bill. The legislation states that the company poses a threat to national security due to its ties to the Chinese military and its involvement in China's plans to develop technology for civilian and military applications.

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)