A U.S. Committee is seeking sanctions on WuXi AppTec and its affiliate WuXi Biologics, according to a letter dated February 12 and seen by Reuters, stating that the global pharmaceutical company’s links to China’s Communist Party (CCP) and military threatened U.S. national security. The letter highlights risks posed by China’s biotech leaders.
 
Congress introduced legislation that would restrict federally-funded medical providers from allowing China’s BGI Group, WuXi AppTec and other biotech firms from getting genetic information about Americans.
 
U.S. lawmakers outlined WuXi AppTec had received investment from numerous China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA)  funds, including the AVIC Military-Civil Integration Selected Hybrid Securities Investment Fund, as reported by Reuters.
 
“Given WuXi AppTec’s clear ties to the CCP and the PLA and its likely role in enabling the genocide in Xinjiang, we urge your departments to consider the inclusion of WuXi AppTec and its subsidiaries on your respective control lists,” according to the letter seen by Reuters.
 
The letter seeks sanctions under Treasury’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, the Commerce list restricting U.S. sales to named entities and the Pentagon’s “1260H” list, which carries implicit warnings about U.S. cooperation with certain firms, as reported by Reuters.
 
“WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics have obscured their ties to the CCP and PLA and, as a result, are rapidly integrating themselves into U.S. supply chains by signing agreements with prominent U.S. biotech entities,” according to the letter.
 
WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics has had partnerships with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and U.S. national labs, as reported by Reuters.
 
Additional details can be found here