Chinese Military-Linked Firm Gathers American DNA, Provides COVID Tests
Technicians work at a genetic testing laboratory of BGI in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, on Dec. 26, 2018. (Stringer/Reuters)
Chinese Military-Linked Firm Gathers American DNA, Provides COVID Tests
Antonio Graceffo
February 2, 2022
Epoch Times News Analysis
China is “developing the world’s largest bio database,” said Edward You, who is the U.S. national counterintelligence officer for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies. “Once they have access to your genetic data, it’s not something you can change like a pin code.”
Racing to dominate the bioeconomy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is compiling a massive database of medical, health, and genetic information from people around the world, including Americans.
The CCP enlists the help of private companies to aid in gathering genetic data, which can be combined with top military supercomputing capabilities, to discover genetic weaknesses in a population. Bioweapons can then be developed, which prey on these weaknesses. As part of Beijing’s military-civil fusion policy, Chinese scientists, along with the military, have been conducting research in the areas of brain science, gene editing, and the creation of artificial genomes.
Similar research could be used to enhance the performance of Chinese soldiers. BGI Group, formerly Beijing Genomics Institute, is the leader of the CCP’s genome project, as well as one of the leading producers of COVID-19 tests. BGI also has ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to a Jan. 30 report by Reuters.
BGI operates the largest pig cloning project in the world. After manipulating generations of pig DNA, intentionally producing pigs that are smaller or larger, more susceptible to certain diseases, or less susceptible to others, the CCP is zeroing in on the ability to produce “super soldiers.” Among the projects currently underway is BGI’s attempt to make China’s Han ethnic soldiers less susceptible to altitude sickness.
BGI’s current chief infectious disease scientist, Chen Weijun, was among the first scientists to sequence COVID-19, taking samples from a military hospital in Wuhan. He is also credited with the patent on the BGI test kits, which have been distributed around the world, including in the United States. Four of BGI’s researchers have been affiliated with the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), under China’s Central Military Commission, which is headed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The NUDT has been blacklisted by the United States as a threat to national security.
Under Xi, private technology companies have been increasingly integrated into military-related research. In 2021, BGI offered to set up COVID test centers in the United States. But U.S. security officials warned that test centers would allow China to gain access to American DNA, as the swabs have genetic material on them. According to Mike Orlando, the head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, no U.S. states agreed, but at least 18 other countries allowed BGI to establish test centers. Additionally, BGI test kits were sent to 180 nations.
The logo of Chinese gene firm BGI Group is seen at its building in Beijing, China, on March 25, 2021. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)
Chinese medical testing companies regularly use DNA collected from test subjects for other research. Human rights groups say the CCP is using the data for security purposes such as identifying and tracking Uygher Muslims. Furthermore, Chinese police are trying to amass samples of DNA from the country’s 700 million males, to keep track of future criminals.
Antonio Graceffo, Ph.D., has spent more than 20 years in Asia. He is a graduate of the Shanghai University of Sport and holds a China-MBA from Shanghai Jiaotong University. Graceffo works as an economics professor and China economic analyst, writing for various international media. Some of his books on China include “Beyond the Belt and Road: China’s Global Economic Expansion” and “A Short Course on the Chinese Economy.”
Chinese Military-Linked Firm Gathers American DNA, Provides COVID Tests
to be continued on next post
Technicians work at a genetic testing laboratory of BGI in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, on Dec. 26, 2018. (Stringer/Reuters)
Chinese Military-Linked Firm Gathers American DNA, Provides COVID Tests
Antonio Graceffo
February 2, 2022
Epoch Times News Analysis
China is “developing the world’s largest bio database,” said Edward You, who is the U.S. national counterintelligence officer for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies. “Once they have access to your genetic data, it’s not something you can change like a pin code.”
Racing to dominate the bioeconomy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is compiling a massive database of medical, health, and genetic information from people around the world, including Americans.
The CCP enlists the help of private companies to aid in gathering genetic data, which can be combined with top military supercomputing capabilities, to discover genetic weaknesses in a population. Bioweapons can then be developed, which prey on these weaknesses. As part of Beijing’s military-civil fusion policy, Chinese scientists, along with the military, have been conducting research in the areas of brain science, gene editing, and the creation of artificial genomes.
Similar research could be used to enhance the performance of Chinese soldiers. BGI Group, formerly Beijing Genomics Institute, is the leader of the CCP’s genome project, as well as one of the leading producers of COVID-19 tests. BGI also has ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to a Jan. 30 report by Reuters.
BGI operates the largest pig cloning project in the world. After manipulating generations of pig DNA, intentionally producing pigs that are smaller or larger, more susceptible to certain diseases, or less susceptible to others, the CCP is zeroing in on the ability to produce “super soldiers.” Among the projects currently underway is BGI’s attempt to make China’s Han ethnic soldiers less susceptible to altitude sickness.
BGI’s current chief infectious disease scientist, Chen Weijun, was among the first scientists to sequence COVID-19, taking samples from a military hospital in Wuhan. He is also credited with the patent on the BGI test kits, which have been distributed around the world, including in the United States. Four of BGI’s researchers have been affiliated with the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), under China’s Central Military Commission, which is headed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The NUDT has been blacklisted by the United States as a threat to national security.
Under Xi, private technology companies have been increasingly integrated into military-related research. In 2021, BGI offered to set up COVID test centers in the United States. But U.S. security officials warned that test centers would allow China to gain access to American DNA, as the swabs have genetic material on them. According to Mike Orlando, the head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, no U.S. states agreed, but at least 18 other countries allowed BGI to establish test centers. Additionally, BGI test kits were sent to 180 nations.
The logo of Chinese gene firm BGI Group is seen at its building in Beijing, China, on March 25, 2021. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)
Chinese medical testing companies regularly use DNA collected from test subjects for other research. Human rights groups say the CCP is using the data for security purposes such as identifying and tracking Uygher Muslims. Furthermore, Chinese police are trying to amass samples of DNA from the country’s 700 million males, to keep track of future criminals.
Antonio Graceffo, Ph.D., has spent more than 20 years in Asia. He is a graduate of the Shanghai University of Sport and holds a China-MBA from Shanghai Jiaotong University. Graceffo works as an economics professor and China economic analyst, writing for various international media. Some of his books on China include “Beyond the Belt and Road: China’s Global Economic Expansion” and “A Short Course on the Chinese Economy.”
Chinese Military-Linked Firm Gathers American DNA, Provides COVID Tests
to be continued on next post
