In a Feb. 12 letter seen by Reuters, the lawmakers asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about the global pharmaceutical giant's ties to the Chinese Communist Party and military. reported that it threatens the national security of the United States.
Congress has introduced a bill that would restrict federally funded health care providers from allowing China's BGI Group, Wuxi AppTec and other biotech companies to obtain genetic information of Americans.
Wuxi AppTec did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but reiterated that this is not a national security risk to any country.
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Yellen praises 'progress' in US-China relations despite national security concerns
Yellen praises 'progress' in US-China relations despite national security concerns
Wuxi AppTec previously said in a statement posted on its website's home page that it was “concerned about misguided U.S. legislative efforts to target us without a fair and transparent consideration of the facts.” Stated.
The four lawmakers accused the Chinese government of clear military ties to Wuxi AppTec and genocide against Muslim minorities, citing public documents from the Chinese government, Chinese university websites, and media articles. Outlined support for China's policies in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. .
They said Wuxi AppTec has received investments from a number of People's Liberation Army funds, including the AVIC Military-Civil Integrated Selective Hybrid Securities Investment Fund.
They also cited the resume of Chen Zisheng, CEO of Wuxi Biologics, which was posted on Tsinghua University's website in 2018, and that he is a Chinese military medical officer who was added to the Ministry of Commerce's export control list in 2021. He was listed as a visiting professor at the academy.
“Given Wuxi AppTec’s apparent ties to the Communist Party of China and the People’s Liberation Army, and its potential role in enabling genocide in Xinjiang, we urge the ministries and agencies to restrict Wuxi AppTec and its subsidiaries to their respective “We request that it be considered for inclusion on the controlled list,” they said in the letter.
These include the Treasury Department's list of non-SDN Chinese military-industrial conglomerates, the trade list restricting U.S. sales to designated entities, and the Department of Defense's “1260H” list with implicit warnings about U.S. cooperation with certain companies. should include sanctions based on
“Wuxi AppTec and Wuxi Biologics have ambiguous ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army, and as a result are rapidly integrating into the U.S. supply chain by entering into agreements with prominent U.S. biotech companies.” wrote the lawmakers.
The companies count Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and the US National Laboratory as partners.
