Lawmakers Call on Biden Administration to Blacklist WuXi AppTec Over Alleged Ties to Chinese Military

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on Feb. 12, 2024. Learner Liu/The Epoch Times

A group of bipartisan lawmakers has called on the Biden administration to investigate Chinese biotech firm WuXi AppTec and its subsidiary, WuXi Biologics, due to their alleged ties to the Chinese military.

In a letter dated Feb. 12 to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the lawmakers raised concerns that the Chinese biotech giant’s connection to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pose a potential threat to U.S. national security.

“WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics are rapidly becoming a global pharmaceutical and research-services giant that threatens U.S. intellectual property and national security. Both companies have close ties to the CCP and have worked at its behest, in multiple instances,” the lawmakers warned.

The letter cites numerous examples of WuXi AppTec and its leadership’s connection to the CCP and the Chinese military and urged the Biden administration to blacklist the company.

Based on public information, the lawmakers pointed out that the WuXi AppTec chairman “has personally commended CCP branch work in the company and has called on Party branches and members to play an active role in the company.”

In early 2022, the Department of Commerce added Wuxi Biologics to its unverified list, which requires U.S. suppliers to do extensive due diligence. However, Commerce removed the company from the list in late 2022.

In the letter, the lawmakers warned that “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.”

Wuxi Biologics has partnered with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and state-funded U.S. labs. Their projects include research on Alzheimer’s disease with Pfizer researchers, a vaccine component production deal with AstraZeneca, and a licensing agreement with GSK on antibodies for cancer research.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has also used Wuxi’s services on an antivirals lab project, using virtual compounds synthesized by Wuxi AppTec, according to a 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Energy.

WuXi AppTec has multiple offices, manufacturing facilities, and labs in the United States, including Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

The lawmakers allege that the Chinese firm had received investment from numerous PLA funds, including the AVIC Military-Civil Integration Selected Hybrid Securities Investment Fund.

The letter also cited a résumé for WuXi Biologics CEO Chen Zhisheng, posted in 2018 to a Tsinghua University website, that listed him as a visiting professor at China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences, which was added to the Commerce Department’s export control list in 2021.

“It is therefore important that the U.S. Government use its licensing, sanctions, and related tools to address the risks of any PRC [People’s Republic of China] biotechnology company that threatens U.S. national security by carrying out human rights abuses or advancing PLA capabilities,” the letter reads.

The letter—signed by the Republican chairman and Democratic ranking member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), as well as Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.)—is the latest effort from Congress to target CCP-affiliated firms that pose national security risks to the United States.

Legislation Targeting Chinese Biotech Firms

Last month, Mr. Gallagher introduced the BIOSECURE Act that bars federally funded medical providers from funding Chinese biotechnology companies that could pose a risk to national security.

The legislation singles out several top Chinese firms with deep ties to the CCP and its PLA. These include biotech companies WuXi Apptec, BGI, MGI, and Complete Genomics.

“The CCP will undoubtedly use the genetic data collected by BGI to further its malign aggression, potentially even to develop a bioweapon used to target the American people,” Mr. Gallagher said.

Mr. Krishnamoorthi said the bill was vital to the committee’s efforts to prevent U.S. funding mechanisms from inadvertently accelerating Chinese military research. “It is unacceptable for U.S. taxpayer dollars to be used to subsidize biotech companies of our foreign adversaries,” Mr. Krishnamoorthi said.

“Closing this loophole is the first step in protecting the American bioeconomy and our national security and ensuring our genomic data is kept safe and secure,” he noted.

Shares of WuXi Apptec and its WuXi Biologics have plunged over 25 percent since the draft bill was introduced late last month, per Reuters and Dow Jones.

WuXi Apptec was previously publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) but was delisted in 2015. In 2019, the company faced a class-action lawsuit that allegedly misled investors, causing significant losses.

Andrew Thornebrooke and Reuters contributed to this report.