US Sanctions on China Might Include Biotechnology Soon

Following the Biden administration's decision to impose broad chip penalties on China, there are indications that China may also lose access to other types of crucial American technologies, such as biotechnology, an area where the two nations have traditionally worked closely together. According to Alan Estevez, undersecretary for industry and security at the Commerce Department, areas such as quantum computing, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence are "on my radar" for potential extra export regulations. The message is unsettling for a sector that is inherently international. Additionally, along with climate policy, biotech is one of the few fields that cuts across ethnicities and international borders. Besides, the advancement of science in China may probably save lives in the United States. Furthermore, the industry has become more efficient as a result of globalization. Also, biotech companies frequently keep offices in both China and the U.S. to make use of the various advantages of each nation. In addition, scientists in China make use of vast amounts of patient data, swift and economical clinical trials, local tax breaks, government financing, and office subsidies to advance their research. Moreover, they continue to operate in the United States to take advantage of the R&D talent present there and to pursue FDA regulatory approval and commercialization. Besides, it is not unusual to see biotech companies marketing themselves as "born global" and hiring CEOs with backgrounds in China, the United States, and other nations. What's more A researcher from Berkeley developed the needleless injection device manufacturer NovaXS, which has its U.S. headquarters but carries out its clinical studies in China. In addition, one of the most well-funded drug discovery startups in China, Xtalpi, conducts research and business development in Boston, where, it "maintains close communication with professors and experts from the research community as well as from the pharmaceutical industry," while maintaining numerous R&D facilities throughout China. Founder and CEO of drug discovery firm Insilico, Alex Zhavoronkov, linked the space to the early semiconductor industry, where "research was done mostly in the U.S. while hardware production happened in China," when asked before why the company spans China and the U.S. Plus, the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi established itself as a global hub for contract research enterprises that carry out outsourced work for major pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Also, Read- Biologists Produced ‘Living’ Synthetic Cells by harnessing Bacteria For Parts On another note, according to Zhavoronkov, "Biotechnology is a highly complex, uncertain, and very risky process that fails 95-99% of the time if you start from target discovery. To put one drug on the market, you need 10-15 years, $2-3 billion dollars, and the process fails 95-99% of the time." "International collaboration in biotechnology is a way to share this huge risk and cost. And by limiting collaboration in this field or even talking about it, the politicians demonstrate a lack of fundamental understanding of the industry and disregard for the health and well-being of their electorate," he continued. Conclusion Indeed, two American scholars  who specialize in China wrote for ChinaFile that the biotech sector with a security-driven strategy could hurt American competitiveness:

Unlike the semiconductor and telecommunication sectors, whose development depends on expensive equipment and hard-to-acquire manufacturing expertise, barriers to entry in biotechnology are low. Likewise, as Eric Lander’s now infamous mapping of CRISPR’s development illustrates, both foundational research and key innovations in biotechnology often take place in the public domain and build on incremental advancements made across the globe. When breakthroughs, like employing CRISPR as a means of gene-editing, do occur they spread through global scientific networks with little heed for national boundaries. Consequently, it is not a zero-sum industry in which a single innovation sets any firm or country ahead for a prolonged period.