This represents a fundamental difference in strategic thinking regarding these domains in Beijing. This isn’t a hypothetical point. There was a sharp statistical increase in Chinese military activity in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Straits, and along the Sino–Indian border during the most acute phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
However, the CCP’s weaponization of biology extends well beyond viruses (such as SARS-CoV-2), as well as beyond the scope and understanding of classical bioweapons. Its new landscape of bioweapons development includes the entire synthetic biology spectrum, from human genome editing of soldiers and genetic manipulation of bacteria to using human-computer interfaces to control entire populations.
These research programs aren’t obscure “moonshots”; they’re core strategic focus areas designed to be utilized over the near term and within current state strategic circumstances, such as in Taiwan.
Any breakthrough in this dual-use research would provide unprecedented tools for the CCP to forcibly establish a new world order, which has been Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s lifelong goal.
For example, these capabilities can fit into the CCP’s anti-access/area denial strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Imagine genetically immunized People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops being inserted into a geography where a specific weaponized bacterial strain has been released prior to their entry to prepare the ground and eliminate points of resistance. Any remaining sources of resistance on the ground are then dealt with through neurobiological weaponry that instills intense fear or other forms of cognitive incoherence, resulting in inaction.
SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: The Tip of a Massive Iceberg
As catastrophic as the release of the genetically engineered SARS-CoV-2 virus from either the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) or the Wuhan branch of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (which also has a live bat colony like WIV), the CCP has been conducting gain-of-function (GoF) and other high-risk research on a range of pathogens that are even more dangerous than the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Our investigations have surfaced multiple programs across Chinese cities—such as Beijing, Harbin, Kunming, and Wuhan—with each program having its own set of distinct international linkages. While these international linkages extend across countries—such as the Netherlands, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Singapore—the links to collaborators in the United States are by far the most extensive and strategic. Without critical American support in the key development phases, the CCP wouldn’t have the world-leading and now-internally powered bioweapons capabilities that it has today.
- Institute name: Wuhan Institute of Virology Location: Wuhan, China GoF/high-risk pathogen research: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9, H5N1, and H1N1
- Institute name: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Location: Beijing and Kunming, China GoF/high-risk pathogen research: SARS-CoV-2, Zika virus, MERS
- Institute name: Academy of Military Medical Sciences Location: Beijing, China GoF/high-risk pathogen research: Nipah/Henipah virus, SARS-CoV-2, African swine flu virus
- Institute name: Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology Location: Beijing, China GoF/high-risk pathogen research: Nipah/Henipah virus, SARS-CoV-2, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, hantavirus
- Institute name: Research Institute of Chemical Defense, PLA Academy of Military Sciences Location: Beijing, China GoF/high-risk pathogen research: mustard gas, moth venom, and nanotechnology-driven long-range delivery systems
CCP Neurostrike: AMMS Leads the Way
Unknown to many, the CCP and its PLA have established themselves as world leaders in the development of neurostrike weapons. These platforms directly attack, or even control, mammalian brains (including humans) with microwave/directed energy weapons via standalone platforms (for example, handheld guns) or the broader electromagnetic spectrum.Neurostrike, as defined by professor Robert McCreight, refers to the engineered targeting of the warfighter and civilian brains using distinct nonkinetic technology to impair cognition, reduce situational awareness, inflict long-term neurological degradation, and fog normal cognitive functions.
The CCP views neurostrike and psychological warfare as a core component of its asymmetric warfare strategy against the United States and its allies in the Indo–Pacific.
However, the CCP’s weaponization of neuroscience extends well beyond the scope and understanding of classical microwave weapons. Its new landscape of neurostrike development includes using massively distributed human-computer interfaces to control entire populations as well as a range of weapons designed to cause cognitive damage.
- Strategic planning force for military combat medical preparations to address strategic scientific and technological problems.
- Specialized tactical force for counter-terrorism operations and public health emergency crisis response.
- Specialist technical unit for the PLA’s disease prevention and control activities.
CCP-Directed Synthetic Narcotics Trafficking: Low-Velocity, High-Impact, Precision-Guided Biochemical Warfare
Synthetic narcotics are a fundamentally different type of illicit industry compared to previous generations of “naturally grown” narcotics, such as cocaine. Synthetic narcotics, namely fentanyl-laced heroin, are produced in pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing facilities under standardized industrial processes with associated supply chains and distribution channels. Synthetic narcotics traffickers aren’t dependent on jungle airstrips or remote unguarded shorelines to produce or move their product like previous cocaine traffickers, such as Pablo Escobar in Colombia or Félix Gallardo in Mexico. Synthetic narcotics are a fully industrialized illicit business with economies of scale, modern financial infrastructure, and continuously increasing efficiency gains.
However, despite the “professionalization” of this illicit industry, synthetic narcotics aren’t likely to be commercially viable even over the medium term. For example, fentanyl-laced heroin doesn’t generate a stable population of consumers, given the high fatality rates of users. Users of many other naturally grown narcotics will purchase products for multiple years (or even a lifetime in some cases), thereby generating a stable and commercially viable illicit market. In the case of fentanyl-laced heroin, for example, the product is highly likely to kill or severely debilitate the user over a short timeframe. It’s, therefore, unclear as to whether there’s a purely commercial motive for the manufacturing and trafficking of these synthetic narcotics and whether there are hidden subsidies from CCP sources to maintain the market.
There’s another unique feature of synthetic narcotics, and fentanyl-laced heroin in particular: This epidemic appears to be almost exclusively confined to the Five Eyes alliance countries. These biochemical weapons are generating multiple public security risks across the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and their presence has also recently begun to increase in the UK. The United States and Canada are currently facing the most acute situations, while Australia and New Zealand are now beginning to witness exponential growth curves in overdose deaths.
This degradation of public order and human misery isn’t witnessed on nearly the same scale in other major Western nations such as Germany, France, or Italy. Why is this? Every other major natural narcotic (such as cocaine) is as readily available in Berlin or Paris as it is in London or Vancouver.
What’s fundamentally different about the synthetic narcotics market that results in this anomalous distribution pattern?
CCP’s Nanoweapons Programs: War Without Borders
China’s invisible arsenals encompass a wide array of advanced and covert weaponry developed using next-generation technologies, particularly nanotechnology platforms. These weapons are designed to be discreet, hard to detect, and capable of inflicting significant damage on adversaries while avoiding direct confrontation.China’s invisible arsenals encompass a range of advanced weaponry that are distinctly focused on providing the CCP with a range of asymmetric warfare options, including the delivery of biological, biochemical, and neurobiological weapons to target populations. These developments present enormous new challenges to global security that are without historical precedent in human history. Nanotechnology-enabled weapons utilize highly sophisticated nanomaterials to enhance performance, stealth capabilities, and overall attack efficacy in military applications.
Additionally, China’s advancements in biotechnology raise concerns about potential dual-use applications, as there are fears that they may be exploring genetically engineered pathogens for use in biological warfare while obfuscating the original point of origin. While the CCP’s attempts to obfuscate their own role in the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic were unsuccessful, nanotechnology delivery systems would make future investigations and determinations of specific attribution more challenging.
If the CCP had in its possession a stockpile of chemical warfare agents, coupled with advancements in nanotechnology, it would be able to develop advanced nano-enhanced stealth chemical weapons. Further, China’s expertise in electromagnetic and cyberwarfare allows it to disrupt critical infrastructure and defense networks without direct military engagement, making traditional countermeasures obsolete and ineffective.
One of the most concerning aspects of China’s invisible arsenals is their distributed and decentralized nature, as weapons may be concealed within civilian infrastructure, posing challenges for traditional intelligence and surveillance methods. This evolving landscape necessitates a deeper understanding and awareness of these threats to devise effective countermeasures and safeguard global security.
For example, researchers from the Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have made a “breakthrough” in DNA nanotechnology, developing a smart DNA molecular nanorobot model. This model innovatively proposes a nonlinear gathering “siege” of biological targets, allowing for advanced signal amplification and intelligent targeted drug delivery. This technology has potential applications in biosensing, bioimaging, and drug delivery.
However, there are risks associated with this advancement. The ability of nanorobots to transport biological agents directly to target cells with deadly precision could be exploited by the PLA for harmful purposes. It could be used to deliver biological agents with precision, making it a potential threat in biological warfare. Additionally, the close collaboration between the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science and the PLA raises concerns about potential dual-use applications of this technology for military purposes.
No Time to React: The Immediate Need for US Offensive Precision-Targeting Options
All of these CCP programs have one commonality: They’re zero-warning, rapid-strike weapons designed to shock and paralyze a target population while seeking to obfuscate the point of origin of the attack itself.The CCP tracked the specific impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the United States and its allies in a microscopic level of detail. The lesson that the CCP has learned is that bioweapons, biochemical weapons, and neurostrike weapons present a range of immediately executable strike options for which the United States doesn’t have an adequate response. This is especially true when these capabilities are paired with the CCP’s nanoweapons arsenal, some of which are specifically designed for long-range delivery.
In a contingency that’s generated by one or more of these CCP weapons programs, traditional biodefense dissolves on first contact. A genetically modified Nipah virus that maintains (or even enhances) its lethality while enhancing its survivability in human populations and can be delivered through a nanoweapon would render our COVID-19-derived response options inert and ineffective. The CCP knows this and has made its next round of strategic investments accordingly.
However, all of these programs have one fundamental vulnerability: They all initially required international technical assistance to enable their formation and operationalization. Because of this, we know where they are, what they’re doing, and who their key personnel are. It’s time for the United States to make involvement in these programs a hazardous affair, especially inside China.
