The CCP CC Politburo held its 33rd collective study on strengthening China's biosafety
construction on September 29. Presiding over the study session, CCP CC General Secretary Xi
Jinping delivered an "important" speech when he emphasized that biosecurity is related to people's
lives and health, to the long-term stability of the country, and to the sustainable development of
the Chinese nation. Xinhua reported “Xi Jinping emphasised that, at present, traditional biosecurity
issues and new biosecurity risks are superimposed on each other, and biological threats from
overseas and domestic biological risks are intertwined.” He said “It is necessary to quickly detect
and recognise newly emerged infectious diseases and outbreaks.” He said “It is necessary to
2
actively participate in global biosafety governance, join hands with the international community
in responding to increasingly severe biosafety challenges, and strengthen bilateral and multilateral
cooperation and exchanges in the formulation of biosafety policies, risk assessment, emergency
response, information sharing and capacity building.” Xi Jinping emphasised that the oversight of
laboratories handling pathogens needed to be strengthened – including experimental samples,
animals and waste – and said the ethical review process must be rigorously enforced. It is an
important part of the overall security of the country. Wu Kongming, academician of the Chinese
Academy of Engineering and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
explained this issue and put forward work suggestions. Members of the Political Bureau of the
Central Committee listened carefully to his explanation and discussed it
|
