Personnel are working inside a bio-lab at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick on September 26, 2002. File Photo: AFP

To serve its geopolitical agenda, the US often comes up with so-called "threats" to create the pretext for containing and suppressing other countries in order to ensure its supremacy and seek selfish gains and such a practice goes against the trend of the times and harms the common interests of the international community, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference on Friday in response to US Department of Defense's Biodefense Posture Review, which reportedly singles out China as the key long-term "threat."

The US Department of Defense has issued the 2023 Biodefense Posture Review, which reportedly singles out China as the key "long-term threat," casting doubt on Beijing's compliance with existing international rules on biowarfare and raising concerns over its accelerated plans to integrate civilian biological research programs into the military.

Wang said that biosecurity is a global issue. The US' false narratives and moves to stoke confrontation seriously jeopardize the biosecurity governance system with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) as the cornerstone and the global response to biosecurity risks and challenges.

When it comes to biosecurity threats, the US is the most active and suspected country in conducting bio-military activities. The US has never given a meaningful response to the international community's concerns, said Wang.

"Has the US been secretly developing its biological warfare capabilities even after it joined the BWC? What's the US truly up to by investing in what it calls biodefense? Has the US ever used other countries for activities that are inconsistent with the BWC and US domestic laws?" asked the spokesperson. "Why does the US collect biometric data and samples from around the world and what have they been used for? Why does the US oppose establishing a bioweapon verification mechanism while all other countries have agreed to it?"

As long as these questions remain unanswered, the international community will not be able to build up confidence in the US' compliance, and global biosecurity will hardly become a reality. China supports continued international review of the US' compliance issue and again calls on the US to earnestly fulfill its international obligations, he said.

China will continue to act under the Global Security Initiative and work with the international community to firmly uphold the authority of international biosecurity law, enhance global biosecurity governance, and respond to biosecurity risks and challenges, said Wang.

Global Times