China finds food for thought in genetics

"China should not be a testing ground for foreign GM products" - Professor Xia Youfu, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing
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China finds food for thought in genetics
SHAI OSTER
Wednesday, April 25, 2001

At a recent science fair in Beijing touting China's advances in genetic engineering, huge crowds gathered around a rat and rabbit with human ears jutting from their bodies. Other displays included tanks filled with fast-growing fish, pest-resistant wheat, weevil-resistant cotton and eight perfectly round, red tomatoes.

The exhibit gave Chinese a view of some of the projects under way at the Ministry of Science. They include transplanting silkworm genes into goats, producing human organs through a stem-cell bank, cloning corneas as a treatment for glaucoma, and studying gene pools of some of the nation's 56 ethnic minorities.

Despite lingering safety concerns, the world's most populous country has set its sights on becoming a global leader in genetic engineering, seeking to improve medical care and guarantee an adequate food supply for its 1.2 billion inhabitants.

China was the only developing nation to participate in the Human Genome Project, a decade-old undertaking to map out chromosomes that make up the genetic code. Project researchers hope that by deciphering people's genomes, they will be able to develop cures for hereditary diseases and birth defects.

"Genetic research is like unlocking the secrets of the atom," said Si Baoqing, 31, a manager at a state-owned factory who attended the exhibition. "You have to make sure you use it for the betterment of mankind, not for its detriment."

China's push into genetic engineering began in 1984 with the opening of a special government agency called the National Centre for Bio-technology Development. Centre officials say their current annual budget is about US$60 million (about HK$470 million).

There is also the state-funded Human Tissues Research and Development Centre in Shanghai, which calls itself the world's largest institute engaging in stem-cell research to generate organs such as the heart, liver and lungs - techniques that are controversial in the United States.

Scientists believe stem cells can be used to grow body organs for transplant operations. The US Government no longer funds such research because some kinds of stem cells are culled from aborted foetuses.

"We need to push forward on tissue engineering," said Chen Zhangliang, vice-president of Beijing University and a leading genetic researcher.

The central Government is also keen on genetically modified food products, though the public's attitude is difficult to gauge. The state-controlled press has given the issue of genetically modified food only positive coverage. The knowledge of possible side effects of such foods is almost nil among the average consumer.

Critics in the West say not enough research has been done on genetically modified crops and the possible long-term effects on the environment and the people who ingest them. To date, the US Food and Drug Administration has not found any harmful effects, but European researchers say adverse reactions have occurred in laboratory tests.

Because China has yet to pass laws to require labelling of all transgenic foods, few Chinese are aware they are consuming such products - primarily Roundup Ready soybeans produced by the US bio-technology giant Monsanto Co, which are used in goods ranging from oil to animal feed.

Beijing has also shown concern. Although the state has approved for consumption such genetically altered crops as sweet peppers, wheat and tomatoes, it has yet to issue licences for their commercial distribution. Professor Chen blamed the delay on China's bureaucratic approval process and concerns that genetically modified foods will be difficult to export.

The Government wants such foods to be used for domestic consumption, but it also has a history of allowing the export market to determine policy. Chinese tobacco was the world's first commercially produced genetically modified organism. But production was halted in the mid-1990s after consumer fears in several foreign countries prompted their governments to refuse to buy the tobacco.

The Government has also called for a tougher United Nations protocol on import quarantines for genetically altered foods.

"The Chinese Government is not as overwhelmingly in support of GMO [genetically modified organism] as the bio-tech industry would like to project in the Western media," said Lo Sze-ping, a Hong Kong spokesman for Greenpeace.

Monsanto had envisaged a huge market in China for its products because of state support and little public suspicion of genetically modified crops. The reality has been different.

In Hubei province, for example, about 60 per cent of all cotton crops are from Monsanto weevil-resistant seeds. But China's weaker intellectual-property laws allow farmers to save seeds for future use. In the US, such hoarding is considered illegal because of patent law.

The central Government is also keen on fostering domestic industry, and a backlash is growing against foreign genetic researchers operating in China. At the recent annual meeting of the National People's Congress, some members called for laws restricting such research to "safeguard [China's] gene varieties".

"China should not be a testing ground for foreign GM products," said Professor Xia Youfu, of Beijing's University of International Business and Economics.

State officials acknowledge the moral questions involved."Genetic research is a double-edged sword that could have negative effects," said Han Deguang, a professor with Shanghai's Chinese Nati onal Human Genome Centre.

Shai Oster is a Beijing-based journalist.
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