{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-gallagher-call-for-chinese-biotechnology-companies-to-be-blacklisted", "Cotton, Gallagher Call for Chinese Biotechnology Companies to be Blacklisted", "2021-09-30", "2021", "2021-09", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: James Arnold or Mary Collins Atkinson (202) 224-2353\n\nSeptember 30, 2021\n\nCotton, Gallagher Call for Chinese Biotechnology Companies to be Blacklisted\n\nDear Secretaries Yellen, Raimondo, and Austin,\n\nI write to you today regarding China\u2019s use of biotechnology companies including the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) as part of the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s (CCP) strategy of \u201cMilitary-Civil Fusion\u201d (MCF). I urge you to add BGI and other Chinese biotechnology companies to the Department of the Treasury\u2019s Non-SDN Chinese Military Industrial Complex Companies List (NS-CMIC List), the Department of Commerce\u2019s Entity List, and the Department of Defense\u2019s list of Chinese military companies required by Section 1260H of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.\n\nBGI and other Chinese biotech companies meet the grounds for inclusion on the NS-CMIC List, the Entity List, and the Section 1260H list. BGI operates in the defense and related materiel sector of the Chinese economy, it is involved in activities contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, and it is a clear military-civil fusion contributor to China\u2019s defense industrial base.\n\nThe CCP\u2019s ambition to dominate biotechnology is well known. The Chinese government designated biotech as a \u201cstrategic emerging industry\u201d and has prioritized state support for the industry through Made in China 2025 and other state-directed MCF plans. BGI plays a key role in these biotech aspirations. Thanks to at least $1.5 billion in Chinese state subsidies, BGI has grown to become China\u2019s biotech \u201cnational champion\u201d and now manages China\u2019s national gene database. BGI has also purchased American firms and used state subsidies to undercut the global DNA sequencing market.\n\nBGI has used its dominant position to further the CCP\u2019s strategic goals by acquiring sensitive health data from the rest of the world. BGI and at least 14 other Chinese companies perform genomic sequencing for U.S. healthcare patients. As mandated by Chinese law, these companies have almost certainly shared this data with the Chinese government.\n\nBGI also attempted to take advantage of the pandemic to acquire U.S. data, reaching out to the governors of six states with offers to build advanced COVID-19 testing labs before top U.S. intelligence officials convinced states to reject BGI\u2019s offers. Most recently, reports revealed that BGI was selling prenatal tests to pregnant women around the world and using the tests to collect vast swathes of genetic data on different populations.\n\nThe Party\u2019s focus on biotech also extends to biotech\u2019s potential military applications. The former head of the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) National Defense University identified biology as one of seven \u201cnew domains of warfare,\u201d including the possibility of \u201cspecific ethnic genetic attacks,\u201d in a 2017 publication.\n\nBGI has a history of collaboration with the PLA and serving the PLA\u2019s interests. A review of 40 publicly-available research papers demonstrates BGI\u2019s work on PLA priorities, such as improved high-altitude soldier performance, neuroscience, and pathogens. BGI\u2019s worldwide prenatal test was itself developed in collaboration with the PLA. BGI has also partnered with the PLA\u2019s National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) to advance bioinformatics research and leverage supercomputers for biological research. Joint BGI-PLA research could have an application in future bioweapons\u2014which is especially concerning because BGI\u2019s national gene bank is presumably made available for military research.\n\nGiven BGI\u2019s and other Chinese biotechnology companies\u2019 support for and collaboration with the PLA, I urge you to include BGI and other Chinese biotech companies on the NS-CMIC List, the Entity List, and the Section 1260H Chinese military companies list. The United States must not turn a blind eye to the threat posed by Chinese biotechnology companies operating at the CCP\u2019s behest. Blacklisting BGI and its fellow biotech companies will help the United States counter the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s efforts to capture Americans\u2019 most private information\u2014their DNA.\n\nThank you for considering this important national security.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:17:01Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-gallagher-call-for-chinese-biotechnology-companies-to-be-blacklisted"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2807529419660568, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}