U.S. Concerns on China's Biological Research Activities

Recent arrests and reports raise questions about compliance with international norms.

James Kraska, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, has analyzed recent incidents involving Chinese nationals as potential violations of the Biological Weapons Convention. In his July 28 article for the Lieber Institute, he notes these events align with China's doctrine of unrestricted warfare, as outlined in a 1999 book by People's Liberation Army colonels Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. Kraska calls for revisiting rules on biological warfare and alerting other states.

This analysis follows three cases in 2025. First, on June 3, authorities charged Chinese nationals Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, with conspiracy, smuggling, making false statements, and visa fraud. Liu entered the U.S. in July 2024 carrying Fusarium graminearum, a fungus that affects crops like wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and can sicken livestock and humans. Though present in the U.S., the sample may have been genetically modified. Both were researchers at the University of Michigan. FBI Director Kash Patel described it as a direct threat from Chinese nationals smuggling an agroterrorism agent.