US bans imports from 3 Chinese biotech companies over forced labor
allegations
[October 29, 2026] By
DIDI TANG
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it is
blocking shipments by the Chinese biotech company BGI Group and its
affiliates, alleging ties to forced labor in China's far-west ethnic
region of Xinjiang.
Starting Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will bar goods by
BGI Group, a major biotech company known for its genetic sequencing
technologies, as well as BGI Genomics and MGI Tech. The Department of
Homeland Security said the companies are either sourcing materials from
Xinjiang or working with the regional government to “recruit, transport,
transfer, harbor, or receive forced labor” of members of persecuted
ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including Uyghurs.
Adding the companies to a trade blacklist comes as biotechnology is
emerging as another front in the economic and tech competition between
the U.S. and China. The Treasury Department last week proposed new
restrictions on U.S. investments in biotechnology, artificial
intelligence and supercomputing from flowing into countries such as
China.
China said it rejected any accusation of forced labor and called the ban
an act of “political manipulation” and “bullying under the guise of
‘protecting human rights.’”
“These listings run counter to the consensus reached by the two
countries’ heads of state, seriously undermine the stability of China-U.S.
economic and trade relations, and violate the spirit of
humanitarianism,” said China's Ministry of Commerce in a Thursday
morning statement. “China will take necessary measures to firmly
safeguard its interests.”
The latest trade actions precede an expected meeting next month between
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in the
southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where BGI Group is based. Xi could
then travel to Florida in December for the Group of 20 leaders summit
and meet Trump for the fourth time this year as the two try to keep ties
stable during a trade truce.
BGI Group rejected the allegations, saying in a statement Wednesday that
it "has not engaged in any form of forced labor.” It added that “we
firmly oppose all forms of forced labor.”
The company has controlling stakes in BGI Genomics and MGI Tech, DHS
said.
BGI Group has for several years been a concern to U.S. lawmakers and
policymakers, who are worried that its alleged ties to the Chinese
government and access to massive genetic data could hurt U.S. national
security and commercial interests. The company has long stressed its
private ownership and said it does not serve patients in the U.S. and
has no access to Americans' genetic data.
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A lab technician prepares DNA samples for analysis in San Jose,
Calif., July 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)
 While Congress failed to pass
legislation banning BGI from doing business with federally funded
medical providers, it passed a similar provision at the end of last
year without naming specific companies. It asked for a list of
“biotechnology companies of concerns” to be compiled.
The Pentagon has labeled BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech as
Chinese military companies, a designation that carries reputational
damage.
In its announcement Wednesday, DHS pointed to “credible information,
including corporate and government reporting” showing that BGI
Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech have supported genetic testing in
Xinjiang.
“The collection and analysis of genetic material facilitate the
monitoring, surveillance, and repression of ethnic minorities by the
government of the People’s Republic of China, including the
abhorrent practice of forced labor,” the department said.
The new restrictions are part of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention
Act, which then-President Joe Biden signed into law at the end of
2021 following allegations of human rights abuses by Beijing against
members of the ethnic Uyghur group and other Muslim minorities in
Xinjiang.
The Chinese government has refuted the claims as lies and defended
its practice and policy in Xinjiang as fighting terror and ensuring
stability.
In August, the Trump administration drastically expanded the
blacklist under that law to include 43 Chinese companies, for a
total of 187 entities. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
has vowed to protect American workers from getting undercut or
cheated by foreign companies using "slave labor."
—
AP writer Huizhong Wu contributed to this report from Bangkok.
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