Contributing China's Strength to Global Biosafety Governance (Harmony) Global | Biology | Governance
China adheres to systematic governance, continuously building its own biosecurity defense line while deeply participating in global biosecurity governance, actively contributing Chinese wisdom and providing Chinese solutions
On August 7th, the working group meeting to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention will be held in Geneva, Switzerland. The establishment of the working group was one of the outcomes of the Ninth Review Conference of the Convention last year, aimed at further strengthening the effectiveness of the Convention and promoting comprehensive compliance.
Biosafety concerns the common interests of all humanity. Currently, global biosafety governance faces both new challenges and important opportunities. On the one hand, the progress of biotechnology promotes the development of productivity and enhances human well-being; On the other hand, as the connotation and extension of biosecurity become more diverse, traditional biosecurity issues and new biosecurity risks overlap, making the global biosecurity situation more complex. How to strengthen global biosecurity governance and better coordinate security and development has become a common issue faced by the international community.
Faced with new situations, challenges, and issues in the field of biosafety, China adheres to systematic governance, continuously strengthens its own biosafety defense line, and deeply participates in global biosafety governance, actively contributing Chinese wisdom and providing Chinese solutions. The Chinese side solemnly proposes the Global Security Initiative and officially releases the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, which clearly states the need to adhere to the coordinated maintenance of security in both traditional and non-traditional fields, advocate for countries to practice the global governance concept of consultation, joint construction, and sharing, and jointly address global issues including biosafety.
The Convention is an important cornerstone of global biosecurity governance, and has played an important role in preventing biosecurity threats and promoting the peaceful use of biotechnology since its opening and signing over 50 years ago. The Chinese side strongly advocates strengthening the Convention, vigorously promoting the establishment of verification mechanisms through multilateral negotiations, and fundamentally ensuring compliance. China has always advocated for the comprehensive prohibition and thorough destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons, and firmly opposes the proliferation of biological weapons and their technologies. China firmly supports the purpose and objectives of the Convention, fully and strictly fulfills its obligations under the Convention, actively participates in and supports the multilateral process of strengthening the effectiveness of the Convention. In April 2021, the Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China was officially implemented, providing stronger legal and institutional guarantees for China to fulfill the Convention. China also actively advocates the negotiation and formulation of an international convention to combat acts of biological and chemical terrorism, further filling the gaps in international law.
In recent years, the risk of abuse and misuse of biotechnology has attracted high attention. China supports the contracting parties to the Convention to keep up with the times, embrace the vision of universal human security and common development, strengthen the review of biotechnology development under the framework of the Convention, promote responsible biological research, and formulate necessary voluntary codes of conduct. Based on the above position, China has conducted in-depth discussions with other countries and reached the Tianjin Guidelines for the Code of Conduct on Biosafety for Scientists in July 2021. It proposes ten guidelines, including adhering to ethical standards, complying with legal norms, advocating scientific integrity, strengthening risk management, strengthening scientific research supervision, and promoting international cooperation. These guidelines cover the entire process and chain of biological research, fully reflecting the consensus of the international community and making important contributions to promoting the healthy and orderly development of global biotechnology. During the Ninth Review Conference and the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, the Tianjin Guidelines for the Code of Conduct on Biosafety for Scientists received widespread attention and praise. The Tianjin Guidelines for the Code of Conduct on Biosafety for Scientists, initiated by China, belong to the world and fully reflect the determination of the international scientific community to further regulate biological research activities. It also fully demonstrates that scientifically based and widely representative international processes can become an effective way to strengthen global biosafety governance and related international cooperation.
In response to the call of developing countries to share the dividends of scientific and technological development in fields such as biology, China has put forward a resolution to "promote peaceful use of international cooperation in the field of international security". Under the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, an open and inclusive dialogue process has been initiated, which is of great significance for building a more just and reasonable export control order, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of countries in the peaceful use of technology, and addressing the security challenges brought about by scientific and technological development. This resolution has been passed by the United Nations General Assembly for two consecutive years and has been widely welcomed by the international community.
If the road is obstructed and long, then it will come. China will continue to hold high the banner of a community with a shared future for mankind, work together with the international community to promote global biosecurity governance, and make greater contributions to achieving universal security and common development.
