China’s Rules on Genes Are Too Tight
Trying to wall off genomes from foreign researchers will slow innovation and the hunt for cures.
Chinese researchers will suffer as much as anyone from restrictions on collaboration.
Photographer: VCG/Getty Images
China caused consternation in the tech world by walling off its internet, blocking foreign cloud-computing firms, and forcing companies to store data locally if they want to operate on the mainland: Many fear a full-fledged balkanization of the internet. The worry now is that something similar may be happening in cutting-edge gene research.
Late last month, in a move that’s largely been overlooked outside the scientific community, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology announced it had sanctioned six Chinese and foreign organizations for the “improper” collection, trading and export of Chinese genetic information. Among those penalized were China’s leading genomics company, BGI Genomics Co. Ltd., and leading biotech firm, WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd., as well as global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca Plc.