U.S. shirks BWC duties, poses challenge to global biosecurity governance: senior expert

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States alone has obstructed the establishment of a verification mechanism for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which poses a challenge to global biosecurity governance, according to a senior Chinese international security expert.

Liu Chong, director of the Institute of International Security Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, weighed in on the United States' irresponsible and unsettling moves related to global biosecurity during an interview with Xinhua.

The BWC, formally known as "The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction," entered into force in 1975. China acceded to the BWC in 1984.

The BWC was forged essentially on a humanitarian basis to shield humankind from biological weapons, and it forbids the use of such weapons in war. Since its inception, many positive results have been achieved, Liu noted.

However, the United States has not only refused the BWC verification, but it has also built up a massive network of opaquely operated biological laboratories worldwide, disregarding reasonable concerns and suspicions raised by the international community.

These acts demonstrate the United States' unbridled pursuit of an advantage in bio-military capabilities or, in other words, an advantage in bio-defense capabilities, Liu said.

Such acts have increased distrust in the international community and had negative impacts on future global security cooperation, he added.

There still exist many bio-security issues requiring public governance and involving common interests, such as gene-editing powered by new technology. These are issues which the international community should act quickly to address through cooperation.

However, the United States' obsession with maintaining an advantage in competition with other countries makes it difficult for the international community to carry out relevant cooperation effectively, Liu said.

In his opinion, the United States has not played its leading role or shouldered its responsibility as a major country, particularly in the field of biosecurity.

Given its self-interest as well as the extensive and questionable activities of its global network of biological laboratories, the United States has opposed the establishment of a multilateral verification mechanism for the BWC. This is detrimental to global security, and ultimately to its own security, Liu said.

He said the world's major countries should deliver more public goods for global security.

"I think there's really a lot of room for improvement in this regard for the United States," he said.

The Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative put forward by China, he said, are among public goods that allow the international community to benefit and develop more quickly, avoiding confrontation, mistrust, and division that impair the interests of humanity.

Liu said in the field of non-traditional security governance, including biosecurity and artificial intelligence security, efforts should be made to address imminent security risks for the shared interests of the international community.

He called for incrementally building trust through cooperation.

"This will ensure lasting peace and stability for humanity, and will avoid the risk of war and conflict," he added.