The blinding spotlight on artificial intelligence has obscured the intensifying U.S.-China competition in biotech, particularly as China is racing to close the gap on research and development, innovation, and commercialization. Much like AI, biotech has become securitized, and the U.S. government has employed a similar economic coercion toolkit against Chinese biotech companies. Two companies stand out: BGI and WuXi AppTec. The former’s subsidiaries were placed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List in 2020 and both were designated “Chinese military companies (CMC)” on the Pentagon’s Section 1260H list in 2026. Each company’s response to U.S. sanctions, however, could not have been more different. BGI chose to embrace Beijing while WuXi stridently asserted its independence and global identity.

Full commentary : Chinese biotechnology companies have been on the receiving end yet offer divergent responses to U.S. Sanctions.