Chinese gene firm that stores data from prenatal test used worldwide has PLA links

Chinese gene firm that stores data from prenatal test used worldwide has PLA links

Chang Che
To match Special Report HEALTH-CHINA/BGI-DNA
Office building administrator Emilia, who requests that only her first name be used, and who is pregnant and had taken Chinese gene firm BGI Group's NIFTY prenatal test, holds a blank copy of the test's consent form as she poses for a picture in Warsaw, Poland, March 30, 2021. Picture taken March 30, 2021. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki.

BGI Group, a Chinese gene company, administers NIFTY, one of the most popular prenatal tests taken by millions of pregnant women around the world. Yesterday, Reuters revealed that the test is a source of data for the firm, which has previously collaborated with the Chinese military.

  • In March, U.S. government advisers warned that genomic data from BGI Group could give China a technological edge, leading to enhanced soldiers or engineered pathogens.
  • Though specific applications are not yet clear, the findings reveal the potential for abuse given BGI’s vast computing power and troves of genomic data.

—Chang Che

Chang Che was The China Project’s Business & Technology staff writer. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Nikkei Asia, and The LA Review of Books. You can follow him on Twitter at @changxche. Read more

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