U.S. Scientists Received $325M in Royalties From China, Russia | China In Focus

scientists from the National Institutes of Health raking in the royalties. But the over $325 million dollar tally is raising concerns. Where's the money coming from and what's it paying for? President Biden's long awaited ban on U.S. investment in China meeting with mixed reactions. Some applauding it as a major blow to Beijing, while others calling the move almost laughable. Half a million in U.S. tax dollars reportedly flowing into an illegal Chinese biolab. Public record highlighting the transaction into the California-based facility. And how dependent is China on imports from the U.S. and its allies? New research puts the figure at a whopping 70%. Could those import needs be the key to countering China's economic pressure? An expert weighs in. What do you think? Let us know below and subscribe if you haven't already. Welcome to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Over $325 million in about 10 years. That's the sum scientists from the National Institutes of Health received in royalties from Chinese and Russian entities and pharmaceutical companies. Entities Daniel Monahan has the details on a new watchdog report. The report was released by transparency watchdog OpenTheBooks.com. It published over 1,500 pages of unredacted records resulting from a Freedom of Information Act battle with the NIH. The records identify companies that paid royalties, which NIH scientists they paid, what inventions they paid for, and when. Several of the royalty payments were from companies that later got federal contracts and grants, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. Former NIH Director Francis Collins and former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci are among those listed as receiving payments between September 2009 and October 2020. The report says Collins received licensing payments from a minimum of four companies that have been awarded almost $50 million from the US government since 2008. Fauci has previously stated that he donates all royalties to charity. The NIH lets inventors take the first $2,000 collected from a licensee and then 15% of royalties above $2,000 and up to $50,000, and 25% of royalties in excess of the first $50,000 collected each year. There is a $150,000 cap on royalty payments for a calendar year. The documents also show at least 34 Chinese companies licensing NIH technologies first funded by US taxpayers. Some licensing fees were paid by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. The company moved its headquarters next to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2016. The Russian animal vaccine producer Pokrov Biologics Plant also made several payments to two scientists from the CDC, Republican Senator Rand Paul recently called on the Senate to force federal employees to disclose such royalties, but that bid was rejected in committee by Democrats joined by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. Daniel Monahan, NTD News. NTD reached out to the NIH for comment and we'll keep you updated when we hear back. US investments in China under growing scrutiny. President Biden unveiling new bans Wednesday, targeting artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors. That's on the grounds of protecting national security. The rules also call for more government visibility into US investments in China. That says US companies have invested billions into China over the years, helping to vault China into one of the world's most advanced tech sectors. Beijing firing back, calling it blatant economic coercion, but stopped short of countermeasures. While these restrictions don't kick in until early next year, reactions are already pouring in. Analysts and investors are telling CNN this is a major blow to Chinese startups. Senator Marco Rubio saying, quote, this narrowly tailored proposal is almost laughable. Anders Corr, a geopolitical expert and publisher of the journal, Political Risk says. I think it's something of a blow. I mean, the thing is, is that it's a restriction on investment from private equity and venture capital. Now that leaves a lot of other investors who can still invest in China in these tech sectors. He adds what's really needed is an allied approach, and there are hints of that. The UK is considering whether to follow Biden's move, but on the other hand, the European Union is taking a more cautious step on trade restrictions, saying it will have its own proposals by the end of this year. China's reliance on the US and its allies exceeds a staggering 70% on over 400 essential goods. The numbers come from a new analysis on trade data. Beijing denies weaponizing trade, instead pointing the finger at US restrictions on tech exports to China. While countries in one-on-one trade fights with China work to bypass Beijing, de-risking and ally-shoring to build alternative supply chains. According to the International Security Academic Journal, the US and its allies have the power to dissuade or even penalize China's economic coercion when they work together. Former US National Security Council Director, Victor Cha, said, quote, two can play this game if you want to. Cha encourages countries to collectively wield their own trade power against China, aligning with recent efforts by the US and its allies to counter China's influence in various sectors, like telecommunications and semiconductors. A massive sum of US taxpayer cash dumped into an illegal Chinese-backed lab. Over half a million dollars was awarded a black market biolab in California. The facility was later found to have been experimenting with lethal viruses. Public records show a large portion of the money was granted through a state program by California Governor Gavin Newsham. The lab's background is also closely linked to China. One year ago, a Chinese buyer became the lab's major creditor after the small biocompany went bust in 2022. Later that year, a guard and hose sticking out from the lab caught authorities' attention as the building was thought to be empty. Local officials issued a warrant to search the nondescript building, and what they found shocked. They found rooms filled with samples of human blood. There were serums. There were lots of infectious diseases that were very scary, everything from HIV to COVID. Hundreds of vials filled with deadly infectious viruses all stored in properly. Graceffo warned that the Chinese Communist Party could have the ability to discreetly set up biolabs on US soil. China bought a number of genomics companies in the United States, and they're basically collecting DNA samples from Americans and feeding this into a massive database. Besides concerns over American privacy, Graceffo told NTD that the CCP could even tailor genetic diseases to specifically affect Americans by using its DNA database. Turning now to Shanghai, the head of China's Immigration Service empire was arrested Thursday. Police are asking the company's president to hand over all of her clients' documents. Here's the story. China is targeting immigration groups. Shanghai police just arrested the head of an immigration service giant, He Mei, among four other staff members on Thursday. The group is China's biggest immigration service agency. It's known for aiding Chinese police in moving to the US. He's agency has served numerous clients for decades. According to a person familiar with this matter, police are now asking He to provide all of her customers' documents. According to Bloomberg, local police arrested the five on suspicion of foreign exchange crimes. But a Chinese whistleblower says the immigration service's customers' information and potentially acquiring billions of dollars are what's really at play behind the arrests. Now the whistleblower is urging all US green card or citizenship holders from China to leave the country immediately. Balancing AI smarts and privacy. That's the debate over recent changes to Zoom's terms of service. A popular video conferencing platform is now facing questions for collecting user data without consent, including from private conversations and for using it to train artificial intelligence models. A now deleted viral tweet reads, Zoom terms of service now requires you to allow AI to train on all your data, audio, facial recognition, private conversations, unconditionally and irrevocably with no opt out. Zoom quickly responded that the company won't use private content without consent, but the terms do allow Zoom to use other data to train its AI, including user activity. Zoom claimed ownership of that data in a blog post. Now some have likened that access to the company peeking into its users' virtual lives. Something else to note, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan was born and raised in China, later immigrating to the US. Experts point out that although users theoretically have control over how their information is used in a professional setting, it's not feasible for an individual to decline a meeting or avoid using Zoom entirely if they disagree with the policy. China's recovery had underwhelmed. This is the conclusion that German engineering company Siemens drew in its earnings report on Thursday. The company's revenues fell short of estimates in the latest quarter. The CEO blamed weaker demand in a number of markets, stating most notably in China. Here's more. A German company that deals with everything from trains to factory automation had a tough third quarter. By the end of June, Siemens' industrial profit fell 4%. Its shares also down nearly 4% in pre-market activity. CEO Roland Bush told reporters, recovery in China's manufacturing sector has been slower than anticipated, adding, as a result, we expect the trend to stay flat. China is Siemens' third largest market, and the country's economy right now doesn't seem to be bouncing back after the lockdowns last year. What's more, tensions are rising between the US and the Chinese regime. The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new restrictions on US investments in China in sensitive technology. Now, Siemens' CEO says their customers are looking for new investments and facilities outside of China. Another big story to look out for, $5 billion worth of Nvidia chips reportedly ordered by all four of China's internet giants. The high-performance chips vital for building artificial intelligence. What's driving the buying up? That report and more coming up tomorrow on China In Focus. That's all for today's China In Focus on YouTube. We're now sharing a shortened version of our program here after being demonetized for two years. Here's what to look out for in our second half. Feng Shuozhou helped organize a pro-democracy protest in Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989. That's the day China's People's Liberation Army took aim at unarmed students with rifles and machine guns as they asked for democracy and better access to education. We spoke to him during a previous show about his story. But what does China's current human rights situation really look like? And how do overseas rights organizations plan to help people there? We welcomed Chinese human rights activist Feng Shuozhou back on the show for details. Full episode is available on our partner platform, APOC TV. To sign up, click the link down below. Thanks for watching China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer, see you tomorrow.