Craig Singleton
Introduction
In a sign of his unwavering commitment to technological self-reliance (自力更生), Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Xi Jinping has declared technological innovation to be the “main battlefield of the international strategic game.”5 Central to Xi’s vision is biotechnology, which he has identified as a critical sector in China’s bid to become a global science superpower.6
Xi’s broader ambitions are anchored in China’s military-civil fusion (军民 融合) strategy, which aims to break down barriers between military and civilian institutions to mobilize the latter in service of the former. Specifically, military-civil fusion facilitates the direct transfer of data and cutting-edge technologies to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), ensuring that China’s military capabilities keep pace with rapid civilian technological progress. Biotechnology, with its vast potential to revolutionize fields such as genomics, synthetic biology, and bioengineering, is integral to military-civil fusion.
The PLA has long recognized the strategic importance of biotechnology, engaging in extensive collaborations with Chinese biotechnology behemoths like BGI Group (華大集團, or BGI) and its former subsidiary MGI Tech (深圳华大智造科技股份有限公司). These and other partnerships have yielded research with potential military applications, including efforts to enhance Chinese soldiers’ physical and cognitive abilities. The PLA’s involvement in biotechnology research extends to its collaborations with select Chinese civilian universities, which, along with entities like BGI Group and MGI Tech, play a pivotal role in advancing China’s military-civil fusion strategy.
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