Ethical issues of biotechnology and human genetic resources in China under the background of the implementation of the Biosecurity Law of the People′s Republic of China

Abstract

With the development of biotechnology, especially the maturity and application of gene editing technology, more and more ethical issues related to biotechnology and human genetic resources have emerged. China has also paid increasing attention to the ethical issues brought about by the development of biotechnology. On October 17, 2020, the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress officially enacted the 'Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Biosecurity Law'), which has been implemented since April 15, 2021. The 'Biosecurity Law' puts forward clear requirements for the ethical education of relevant professionals in China, ethical review of biotechnology research and development, sovereignty over human genetic resources and biological resources, and their collection, preservation, utilization, and provision to foreign countries. This article outlined the ethical requirements of the 'Biosecurity Law' for China's biotechnology research and application as well as the utilization of human genetic resources, and used events such as 'gene-edited babies' as examples to illustrate the ethical issues of biotechnology and human genetic resources in China under the implementation of the 'Biosecurity Law', in order to enhance the country's capacity for biosecurity governance.

Keywords

• biosecurity law of the people's republic of china
• biotechnology
• human genetic resources
• ethics