The Commerce Department building is seen ahead of an expected report on new home sales data in Washington on January 26, 2022.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday it would impose new export controls on biotech equipment and related technology due to national security concerns related to artificial intelligence and data science.
Washington is concerned that China may use U.S. technology to enhance its military capabilities and use artificial intelligence to help design new weapons. The department said the lab equipment could be used for “human performance enhancement, brain-computer interfaces, biomimetic synthetic materials, and possibly even bioweapons.”
The new export controls restrict high-parameter flow cytometers and certain mass spectrometry devices that can “generate high-quality, high-content biological data, including those suitable for use to advance the development of artificial intelligence and biodesign tools.”
This is the latest move by Washington to restrict American technology access to China. On Monday, the Department of Commerce took further measures to restrict the export of Chinese artificial intelligence chips and technology, aiming to help the United States maintain its dominance in the field of artificial intelligence by controlling artificial intelligence globally.
U.S. lawmakers have been considering multiple proposals to prevent foreign adversaries from obtaining Americans’ personal health and genetic information and aim to push U.S. pharmaceutical and biotech companies to reduce their reliance on China for everything from manufacturing drug ingredients to early-stage research. .
Last week, U.S. lawmakers called on the Commerce Department to consider restricting exports of U.S. biotechnology to the Chinese military, citing concerns that Beijing could weaponize it.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said last week that Beijing “firmly opposes the development, possession or use of biological weapons by any country”.
In August, U.S. lawmakers called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to increase scrutiny of U.S. clinical trials in China, citing the risk of intellectual property theft and the possibility that members of China’s Uyghur minority would be forced to participate.
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