WASHINGTON —
On March 4, the day that U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, China announced a ban on imports of gene sequencers from Illumina, a U.S. medical device manufacturer. It had previously been included in Beijing’s “unreliable entity” list. U.S. experts believe that in addition to retaliating against U.S. tariffs on China, China’s move is to protect Chinese biotechnology companies to accelerate the growth of the industry.
On Monday, Illumina cut its annual stock forecast and plans to cut spending by $100 million in response to China’s ban on imports of its gene sequencing instruments. The company said the cost savings will mitigate the potential impact on the company’s Greater China business revenue and related operating income from the ban.
China’s said on March 4 that the ban on Illumina’s export of gene sequencers to China was “to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, in accordance with the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China, the National Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws.”
The ban was part of a series of measures announced by China in response to additional U.S. tariffs. The ban was announced minutes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. On February 4, Beijing added Illumina to its list of “unreliable entities.”
Founded in 1998, Illumina is headquartered in San Diego, California. Its official website says it is a global leader in genomics, with annual revenue of more than $4.4 billion in 2023. According to a report last year by consulting firm DeciBio, Illumina has more than 90% market share in clinical genomics testing, and its platform is deeply embedded in many clinical companies.
According to Precedence Research, a research company based in Canada and India, the global gene sequencing market size was $14.7 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach around $51.31 billion by 2034. The North American gene sequencing market size exceeded $6.52 billion in 2024.
China’s retaliatory strikes expand
In addition to Illumina, Beijing has also taken punitive trade measures against 15 other companies, including drone maker Skydio, and added another 10 U.S. companies to its so-called “unreliable entity list,” blocking them from doing business in China. The
“unreliable entity list” and import bans have increasingly become Beijing’s preferred strategy to fight back against Washington in the escalating trade war. But in the past, Beijing has been reluctant to take retaliatory measures that would affect the business of U.S. companies for fear of spooking foreign investors, and has generally targeted defense companies related to arms sales to Taiwan and companies that have little business in China.
This time, Beijing went a step further and accused Illumina of violating market trading rules and discriminating against Chinese companies.
“Illumina of the United States violated normal market trading principles, interrupted normal transactions with Chinese companies, adopted discriminatory measures against Chinese companies, and seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the Ministry of Commerce statement said.
Illumina said it was evaluating Beijing’s actions “to fully understand the impact on our business in China” but that it would continue to serve Chinese customers.
“We respect and comply with Chinese laws and regulations and are committed to operating in accordance with the latest guidance from the Ministry of Commerce,” Illumina said in a statement to
Why did Illumina, which has nothing to do with national defense and agriculture and forestry, get caught in the crossfire?
It is not difficult to find that Illumina is the only biotech company sanctioned by China this time. It is neither involved in defense nor in agricultural and forestry products. In 2024, China accounted for only 7% of Illumina’s sales. The company’s revenue from China has declined in the past three years, down 6% in 2022, 18% in 2023, and 20% in 2024. This is partly due to fierce competition from Chinese companies, the most powerful of which are BGI and BGI Intelligence. Therefore, some American experts believe that the import ban on Illumina will not fundamentally hurt the company’s profits and development.
In addition, Illumina is investing in instrument manufacturing within China, so the import ban may not completely block the company’s sales in China.
American experts believe that Illumina is targeted precisely because of its biotechnology company attributes.
Jeff Moon, the U.S. Assistant Trade Representative for China Affairs during the Obama administration, told VOA: “China is signaling that they are prepared to take asymmetric (such as non-tariff) measures to retaliate against President Trump’s tariffs, including targeting specific U.S. technology companies and key technology industries.”
He said that the United States and China have extensive cooperation in the biotechnology industry. For many years, China has prioritized biotechnology in its planning, including the “Made in China 2025” initiative. The United States has been emphasizing the importance of biotechnology since then-National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan outlined a new approach to the United States’ response to technological competition with China in a speech in September 2022, namely the “small courtyard and high wall” strategy. However, China is dissatisfied that the proposed “Biosafety Law”, although not passed, has a negative impact on China’s contract development and manufacturing organizations. President Trump’s “America First Investment Policy,” introduced on February 21, 2025, could restrict U.S. investment in biotech companies with ties to China.
Chris Tang, a professor of business administration at the University of California, Los Angeles, believes that China’s sanctions on Illumina are intended to protect China’s biotech industry.
“China is working to become more self-sufficient in many areas, including biotech,” he said. “Illumina is a leading biotech company that develops and manufactures integrated systems for analyzing genetic variation and biological function. They focus primarily on gene sequencing and array-based technologies, which are used in various fields such as oncology, genetic diseases, infectious diseases and reproductive health. This is an important area that China needs.”
Deng Zhaosheng said that by banning Illumina, China has provided an impetus for Chinese biotech companies to accelerate their development, just as in the semiconductor industry China urged Huawei and SMIC to accelerate the development of nanochips.
“In this case, China hopes to urge BGI and MGI to invest and accelerate the development of genomics research and applications to contribute to precision medicine, agriculture and environmental research,” he said.
The professor gave an example, saying that using gene sequencing and gene expression analysis, more advanced and higher-yielding crop seeds can be developed, thereby increasing China’s grain production. Of course, gene sequencing can also be used to develop precision treatments for cancer.