biosafety

The Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China will officially come into effect on April 15, 2021. This is a major event in the modernization process of China's national security governance system and governance capacity. Currently, the importance and urgency of biosafety have significantly increased. Fully implementing the Biosafety Law is of great significance for building a strong national biosafety defense line.

Biosafety has become increasingly global in nature and is an important area of national security

Biosafety belongs to non-traditional safety, includingNewly emerging infectious diseases, misuse and misuse of new biotechnology, laboratory biosafety, loss of national important genetic resources and genetic data, biology and biologyThreat of ideology, etcCurrently, under the frameworks of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and others, discussions around international rules related to biosafety are becoming more heated, and global biosafety governance has entered a new period of transformation. Some countries, such as the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom, are considering and implementing existing biosafety strategies or laws in response to the problems exposed by major infectious disease outbreaks, and have included biosafety as an important development area related to national security.

Implementing the overall national security concept and focusing on contemporary biosafety concepts

By examining national biosafety from a strategic and forward-looking perspective, and placing China's biosafety in the context of the severe situation and development trend of international biosafety, the connotation and extension of biosafety have been greatly enriched and developed, forming a biosafety concept with distinct Chinese characteristics that adapts to China's economic and social development and the mainstream trend of international biosafety.In the national biosafety defense line,Ports are the first line of defense,Its mission is to contain imported biological threats, ensure local biological safety, and prevent biological activitiesAnd related biological hazards;The second line of defense is regional defense, and the concept of administrative boundaries needs to be changed，Proactive responses to biological hazards should be carried out around the ecological domains where life forms such as humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms exist.

The dual-use of biotechnology is highlighted, and it is necessary to strengthen ethics, process management, and risk control in accordance with the law

The continuous integration and development of modern technologies such as gene editing, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence have made it possible for catastrophic consequences to arise from the misuse and misuse of biotechnology. The state should strengthen the safety management of biotechnology research, development, and application activities, enhance process management, and implement classified management according to risk levels; Simultaneously conduct ethical review and follow-up evaluation to prevent abuse and misuse.

Effectively strengthen the biosafety of pathogenic microorganism laboratories

The biosafety of pathogenic microorganism laboratories is not only related to the health and safety of laboratory personnel, but also to the safety of society, the public, and the environment. Although China's laboratory biosafety work started late, it has established a laboratory biosafety grading management system based on risk assessment quantification, providing strong guarantees to ensure that there are no major laboratory infection incidents in China.After the epidemic, the bioeconomy has shown explosive growth, and there is an urgent need for top-level design and institutional standardization and strengthening of the biological management of pathogenic microorganism laboratories to ensure the standardized operation of biosafety laboratories.

Strengthen the assessment of biosafety risks and strengthen the national biosafety defense line

Currently, global biosafety risks are increasing, traditional biosafety issues are intertwined with new biological threats, and risks are complex and diverse. The overall situation of biosafety in China is relatively stable, but globallyThe epidemic is still spreading, facing the risk of imported cases and local outbreaks, while the risk of other infectious diseases entering and spreading coexist for a long time. The emergence of new infectious diseases in humans and animals worldwide has shown a trend of high stock, rapid growth, wide spread, and severe harm, which has always been a major threat to human and animal health, as well as the primary threat to national biosafety. Therefore, it is necessary to timely track and analyze, strengthen inter departmental coordination, form a biosafety management system that includes local disposal, vertical management, top-down linkage, and departmental collaboration, and build a strong national biosafety defense line.

Pay close attention to biologyEffectively strengthen prevention against biological threats

Currently, the situation of international biological struggle is becoming increasingly severe and complex. The rapid development of biotechnology has enabled biologyResearch and development are more concealed, dangerous, and diverse. At present, various types of virulent strains of bacteria have a wide range of sources, and the epidemic is still raging. There are many personnel and units engaged in pathogen operation, and the risk points of inactivated and attenuated vaccine production workshops are complex and diverse, which are difficult to supervise and control. They will pose a threat to China's biosafety in agriculture, ecology, health and other fields, and need to be closely monitored and strengthened for prevention.

Relying on technological innovation and talent team building to enhance biosafety capabilities

Biosafety has interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary characteristics, and it is necessary to optimize the mode of technological innovation, increase investment through government guidance and enterprise integration, and carry out forward-looking research. At the same time, we will promote the construction of public health and epidemic prevention teams, and establish disciplines related to biosafety risk prevention and control in areas such as biosafety defense. In addition, we will establish a top-level coordinated and efficient national biosafety guarantee system, carry out demand-oriented task deployment and strategic research, actively promote the nationwide layout of biosafety level three and four laboratories, and improve the construction of biosafety guarantee capabilities.

Actively participate in the research and formulation of international biosafety rules, and promote global biosafety governance

Biosafety knows no borders. To fully implement the Biosafety Law and make it effective, and to strengthen the national biosafety defense line, it is necessary to coordinate the domestic and international situations. After the epidemic, the global biosafety governance system is facing challenges, and China's ability to respond to and prevent biosafety risks has been further enhanced, making it a leader in the global biosafety field.. Individuals need to actively participate in the reconstruction of the global biosafety governance system in accordance with laws and regulations. The current international biosafety situation is becoming more complex and severe, and it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation in the field of biosafety, support participation in international rescue of biosafety incidents, and jointly enhance the level of global biosafety governance.

In short, the implementation of the Biosafety Law marks a new stage and a new step in China's biosafety work. We need to not only do our own things well, but also actively engage in international cooperation to promote common and universal security in the field of biology. This is the original intention of biosecurity legislation, which is to safeguard national security, prevent and respond to biosecurity risks, protect people's lives and health, protect biological resources and ecological environment, promote the healthy development of biotechnology, promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, and achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

(The author is a biosafety scientist from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

Secretary Wu specifically mentioned in this article that there are two lines of defense for China's biosafety protection:

1、 Customs Port

IIRegional defense requires a change in the concept of administrative boundariesWe should actively respond to biological hazards in the ecological domain where life forms such as humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms exist.

What can Sailitong do in the face of the implementation of the Biosafety Law? We should provide technology for customs, disease control, hospitals, various safety laboratories, agricultural harmless treatment, and biopharmaceutical harmless treatment.