Lawmakers have called for more sanctions on Chinese companies

Two cross-party lawmakers have called on the Biden administration to blacklist seven Chinese biotech companies.
According to a Voice of America report on April 2, the Chairman of the US-China Strategic Partnership Committee, Mike Gallagher, a member of the House of Representatives, and Raja Krishnamursi, a member of the committee, asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to take action on the issue.
The two MPs argued that China could use biotechnology to enhance its military capabilities, that the United States must take urgent action, and that there is a risk that China could develop synthetic pathogens and gain a military advantage.
A US Department of Defense spokesperson said in a statement: “The Department of Defense responds directly to members of Congress on issues like this. We do not have any detailed information to disclose at this time.”
“Some people in the United States should stop suppressing Chinese companies under false pretenses,” Liu Bingyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the United States, protested.