China firmly opposes the passage of the Biosecure Act by the U.S House of Representatives and the discriminatory measures against Chinese companies, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday.

“The U.S. needs to abandon ideological bias, respect the principles of market economy and trade rules, stop advancing that bill, and stop suppressing Chinese companies under various pretexts,” Mao said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday with a vote of 306 to 81, surpassing the two-thirds majority needed. It prohibits U.S. federal agencies from doing business with Chinese biotech companies such as WuXi AppTec and BGI Group, under “national security” pretexts.

Those in favor of the measure say they’re protecting the genetic information of the U.S. population and the local pharmaceutical supply chains. Opponents say the process of how foreign companies were included in the legislation is not clear.

WuXi AppTec denied the allegations, saying in a statement that it neither operates a human genomics business nor engages in the collection of human genomic data globally.

The company’s shares slumped by over 10 percent in Hong Kong after the passage of the bill. It said it will track the legislation’s progress and engage in dialogue with all stakeholders.

MGI Tech Co, a life science and biotech arm of BGI Group, in a statement expressed its opposition to the “baseless legislation.”

The bill “is likely to jeopardize global biosecurity by slowing the sector’s progress, stifling innovation and making it harder for global companies to benefit from and share important medical breakthroughs,” it said.

BGI Group also released a statement later saying, “We are disappointed that the U.S. legislative process is being used to pick winners and losers.”

The bill still needs to pass the Senate before it can be sent to U.S. President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover image via CFP)

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