US Should Increase Export Controls on Chinese Genomics Company, Lawmakers Say
The U.S. should tighten export controls against the Beijing Genomics Institute and its subsidiaries to prevent it from importing U.S. genomic and semiconductor technologies, the House’s Republican-led China Task Force said in a letter to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Although the Commerce Department’s Entity List has two of BGI’s subsidiaries, the lawmakers said several more should be added to restrict the company’s “access to technology, data, and money.”
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They specifically called on the administration to increase controls over exports of “genetic samples, DNA sequencing instruments, and other software and semiconductor chips.” BGI should also be added to the Treasury Department’s Chinese Military-Industrial Complex List, which would restrict U.S. investments in the company.
“BGI is a clear threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” the task force members said in the March 16 letter, adding that the company has contributed to China’s “genocide” of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The lawmakers urged the administration to take “prompt” action. “The tools are available to take a whole-of-government approach that imposes consequences on corporate entities that facilitate genocide and military modernization,” the letter said. The White House didn’t comment.