Last April, as the world fell to Covid-19, one Chinese company was there to offer a helping hand: BGI. But the line between the biotech giant and Beijing is increasingly blurry.
Illustration by Sam Ward
Listen to SupChina editor-at-large and Sinica podcast host Kaiser Kuo read this article.
On January 25, 2020, as the city of Wuhan headed into the world’s first Covid-19 lockdown, the Chinese billionaire Wang Jian arrived on one of the last incoming trains. Flanked by a small entourage of younger scientists, Wang exited the station wearing a mask, a light puffy jacket and a backpack. Thousands were fleeing the river port metropolis. But Wang came ready to work.
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