Chinese Military Machinery Found in Secret US Government Lab

A Chinese military-linked company's machinery has been detected at one of America's most secretive government laboratories, raising concerns over the potential for espionage and data breaches. The revelation comes as the US Congress considers legislation to ban such equipment from use at federal facilities.

The House Oversight Committee has confirmed the presence of a machine operated by a Chinese military company at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Los Alamos is a highly classified facility where the atomic bomb was developed during the Manhattan Project.

Chinese Military Machinery Found in Secret US Government Lab

According to a committee spokeswoman, the machine belongs to the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), a Chinese biotech company that the Pentagon has classified as a "Chinese military company." BGI has been accused of conducting genetic analysis and surveillance activities for the Chinese government.

The House has passed the BIOSECURE Act, which would prohibit the use of BGI machinery at US government facilities. The bill is currently being considered by the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Chinese Military Machinery Found in Secret US Government Lab

The FBI has previously accused China of stealing nuclear secrets from Los Alamos. In 1999, the New York Times reported that China had miniaturized its nuclear bombs using information acquired from the lab.

BGI has a significant presence in the US, with several subsidiaries established in recent years. The company has contracts with health firms and universities for DNA sequencing, collecting genetic data from millions of individuals worldwide.

Chinese Military Machinery Found in Secret US Government Lab

The National Security Commission on AI has warned that BGI "may be serving, wittingly or unwittingly, as a global collection mechanism for Chinese government gene databases."

In 2021, BGI launched a neonatal genetic test with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), collecting information on millions of women for research on population traits.

Chinese Military Machinery Found in Secret US Government Lab

In 2022, an information security firm identified a decades-long Chinese campaign to recruit and insert researchers at Los Alamos. Of 162 scientists who left the lab between 1987 and 2021, 15 were permanent staff with high-level security clearances.

The presence of BGI machinery at Los Alamos has sparked concerns that China may be collecting genetic data from US citizens and accessing sensitive information about key individuals.

The Oversight Committee has not yet disclosed whether it will investigate the BGI-linked machinery at Los Alamos. However, the revelation has highlighted the importance of safeguarding critical government facilities from potential foreign influence and data breaches.