China to inspect genetic exports

▶ Leak of gene materials harms people’s privacy: expert

Human genetic resources for export must be digitally registered at customs and available for inspection, according to an announcement by Chinese authorities on Thursday.

The new rule became effective on Thursday, according to the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Export companies must fully declare their inventory to customs for export permission. Those already certified on paper must be digitally registered with customs by December 31, reads the announcement.

Human genetic resources, including the human genome, human organs, tissues, cells, blood and related gene materials and information, are essential to disease research and population health, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

“The leak of human genetic resources will essentially harm people’s privacy and this is a concern and challenge for all countries around the world,” Wang Xiaodong, head of Beijing-based National Institute of Biological Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

“Thus, the collection and usage of such resources need clear legal protection,” Wang said.

Zhou Qi, head of Institute of Zoology affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Xinhua that “The management of human genetic resources should be enhanced, placing the research and production chain under supervision.”

The Ministry of Science and Technology said on October 24 that six companies and institutions including Beijing Genomics Institute, AstraZeneca and Huashan Hospital were punished for breaching regulations on the management of human genetic resources, Shanghaibased news portal thepaper.cn reported on Wednesday.

In 2015, Huashan Hospital, an affiliate of Shanghai’s Fudan University, and the Beijing Genomics Institute, cooperated with Oxford University in human genetic resources research without approval.

In 2016, the Wuxi TecApp company in Suzhou was fined for illegally exporting 5,165 pieces of human genetic resources and declaring them as dog blood.

In 2018, three other companies were punished for conducting research beyond what was approved. The three companies were all warned by the ministry.

The human genetic resources involved were confiscated and destroyed, The Beijing News reported in October.