By Lily Zhou via the Epoch Times (emphasis on us),
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has asked the U.S. government to consider new rules that restrict U.S. biotech companies from conducting clinical trials with entities affiliated with the Chinese military.
In a Jan. 9 letter to Commerce Minister Gina Raimondo, a special committee in the House of Representatives of the Chinese Communist Party said the proposed restrictions “will help ensure that U.S. biotechnology does not fall into the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” referring to the acronym of the official name of Communist China, the People’s Republic of China.
In a letter signed by reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman and line member of the committee, respectively, along with Republican Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), said the biotechnology competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China “will affect not only our national and economic security, but also the future of health care and the security of American medical records.”
The letter quotes Beijing’s 14th Five-Year Plan — which “defines biotechnology dominance as critical to strengthening the science and technological power of the People’s Republic of China” and calls for deepening military-civilian science and technology cooperation in this sector” — and a publication by the former president of China’s Military National Defense University discussing the possibility of creating new synthetic pathogens that are “more toxic, contagious, and resistant.”
Lawmakers praised proposals put forward by the Bureau of Industry and Security in July 2024 to extend export controls to military and intelligence end-users as a “welcome update.” They suggested that the measures could be further strengthened by requiring a license to conduct clinical trials with medical institutions affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
“Specifically, we recommend updating the definition of ‘military end user’ to national medical infrastructure owned or operated as necessary by the national armed services of the People’s Republic of China and other countries, constitutes a military end-use if a U.S. person wishes to cooperate with the institution to conduct a clinical trial,” they added.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Department of Commerce for comment and did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The letter is a sign of growing concern about China’s role in the biotechnology industry.
In August 2024, the same committee wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking the agency to ensure that U.S. clinical trials do not contribute to human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region or contribute to the transfer of critical U.S. intellectual property to the PLA.
Citing official data, the letter said U.S. biopharmaceutical companies have conducted hundreds of clinical trials over the past decade, with at least one Chinese military unit among their research partners and conducting research at hospitals in Xinjiang, “where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is dealing with the genocide of the Uyghur population.”
Laura Paulos, acting FDA Legislative Commissioner, said in a response letter to lawmakers on Jan. 2 that there is protection for study participants.
“Given the concerns about human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the FDA has publicly reiterated that (the legislation) requires clinical trials to obtain legally effective and informed consent from people,” he wrote.
In response to concerns about intellectual property theft and technology transfer, Paulos directed lawmakers to “appropriate U.S. federal agency partners.”
In addition to clinical trials, the Committee has asked the Ministry of Defense (DOD) to add several Chinese biotech companies to its list of companies allegedly associated with the Chinese military. Two of these companies, Origincell and MGI Group, were added to the updated list on January 7, along with dozens of others in sectors such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, drones and shipping.
DOD also included BGI Group, the parent company of MGI and BGI Genomics, which had previously been designated a Chinese military company, and another BGI subsidiary, Forensic Genomics International.
Reuters contributed to this report.
