


 



 The PLA has been central to China's ability to control the coronavirus.Credit: Chine Nouvelle/SIPA/Shutterstock The largest armed force in the world, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is not known for its cutting edge medical research. But since 2015, it has ramped up recruitment of scientists, and investment in the field as part of its strategy to modernize its military. Now, the coronavirus pandemic is showcasing the PLA's growing expertise in medical research, including a major role in developing the coronavirus vaccine that was the first in the world to be approved for restricted use. “China is definitely trying to leverage the crisis from a PR perspective,” says Abigail Coplin, who studies China’s biotechnology industry at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. 近日,自然雜誌發表了一篇名為《新冠病毒疫苗顯示軍方在醫學研究中的作用日益增強》的文章。文中指出作為世界上最大的武裝力量,中國人民解放軍並不以尖端的醫學研究著稱。 但自2015年以來,作為其軍事現代化戰略的一部分,它加大了對科學家的招聘力度,並擴大了對該領域的投資。 “異軍”突起 近期,陳薇領銜的疫苗研製對外宣稱取得進展,疫苗的研製得到了許多政府部門、大學的幫助。於此同時,解放軍與醫學公司之間的關係加速發展,如天津生物製藥公司康希諾參與疫苗研製。3月以來,解放軍一直與生產消毒和醫療設備的北京誠益通控制工程科技公司進行合作。除了在病毒疫苗的研究中的重要角色,解放軍也在其他方面起到“突出作用”,如向多國提供醫療援助,並利用疫苗與各國建立了新的聯繫。這些引起了世界專家的注意。 紐約的波基普西市瓦薩學院(Vassar College)研究中國生物技術產業的阿比蓋爾·科普林(Abigail Coplin)表示:“中國絕對是從公關的角度利用這次危機。”研究解放軍的澳大利亞國立大學中國問題專家亞當·尼(Adam Ni)認為,如果中共在疫苗方面取得進展,“這(對中共)的輿論宣傳是一個相當大的勝利”。在中美關係日益緊張的背景下,中共解放軍在科技轉型過程中的規模與速度讓人感到擔憂。 軍民融合 2015年之前,解放軍主要從內部或軍事大學中招募科學家,部分原因是軍事研究職位不具有吸引力,不如民間機構靈活。但是自2018年以來,解放軍開始在民間大量招募科學家,尤其是加大了對醫學家的招聘。倫敦國際戰略研究所凱琳泰(Kai Lin Tay)發布的分析表明,自2018年以來,軍事醫學科學院已經招募了213名平民擔任科研職位,招聘人數之多,位居軍事科學院10個研究機構中第二名。 作為中國政府在2015年宣布的”軍民融合”政策的一部分,軍方也在加強與中國普通大學的聯繫。解放軍的定向研究生在普通大學越來越普遍了,軍民融合戰略將生物學作為優先研究領域。解放軍還通過向國外派遣研究人員來增強其學術專長。 在新美國安全中心研究中共軍事戰略的的艾爾莎·卡尼亞(Elsa Kania)說,解放軍重新關注科學,有助於推進現有的軍事研究項目,特別是在腦科學方面。2018年,解放軍神經學專家發表了一篇評論,概述了軍事腦科學如何影響未來的戰爭,例如,利用腦-機接口來提高士兵的能力,以及對敵國進行心理戰。 自主研發? 在過去的幾個月裡,美國安全官員透露,中共試圖監視和竊取從事疫苗研究的美國製藥公司和大學的研究成果。 7月,美國司法部(US Justice Department)起訴兩名中國公民在三個進行疫苗研究的美國實體從事間諜活動。 美國生物技術公司莫德納(Moderna),在冠狀病毒疫苗研究處於領先地位,告訴路透社,它是黑客攻擊的目標之一。 中國官員否認有任何參與。艾爾莎·卡尼亞認為:“技術轉移明顯是中國政府最高層的政策和優先事項,涉及到相當駭人聽聞的黑客事件,目的是竊取數據。” “這種行為方式,無論其規模和範圍,還有這些事件的嚴重性以及它對基本科學和商業準則的破壞,都是中國特有的。” 國際舞台 疫情為中國在國際舞台上展示其軍隊科學成就提供了機會。例如,軍方對巴基斯坦、伊朗、伊拉克、黎巴嫩、越南、老撾、緬甸、柬埔寨和意大利提供了大量協助。航空大學中國航空研究所的中國軍事分析師伊恩.麥卡斯林(Ian McCaslin)表示,解放軍研製的疫苗可能給予中國更多的地緣政治影響力,關係好的國家優先獲得疫苗。康希諾生物公司已經與俄羅斯、墨西哥、沙特阿拉伯和巴基斯坦簽訂了進行第三階段臨床試驗的協議。 評: 作為中共的黨衛軍,不能單純的從一般軍事科研的角度看待中共解放軍的醫學研究。中共在這個時間點急切的推出疫苗,就是給自己在和美國的對峙中增加政治資本,讓各國選邊站,挾疫苗以令各國。 Medical researcher Major General Chen Wei at the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology — part of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences — led the team that developed the vaccine, which included collaborators from government agencies, universities and the Tianjin-based pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics. In July, the team became one of the first in the world to publish results in a peer-reviewed journal that showed a coronavirus vaccine to be safe and capable of eliciting an immune response1. By then, the Chinese government had already approved the vaccine, based on a common cold adenovirus and called Ad5-nCoV, for limited use in military personnel, before large-scale testing to prove its efficacy. Wei and members of her team were among the first — of thousands in the military so far — to receive the vaccine. Chen and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology did not respond to Nature’s request for comment about the vaccine work. Should the vaccine win approval for more widespread use before efforts backed by other countries, especially the United States, “it will be a pretty big propaganda victory” for Beijing, says Adam Ni, a China analyst from the Australian National University in Canberra who studies the PLA. As well as its contributions to the development of a coronavirus vaccine, the PLA has also taken a high-profile role in controlling the pandemic in China, sent assistance with pandemic response in a host of countries and used the vaccine to forge new links with countries. Other militaries, including the United States, work on vaccines and conduct medical research. But the sheer size of the PLA and the speed at which reforms are taking place make its scientific transformation noteworthy, and for some, a cause for concern, especially given the growing political tensions between the United States and China, he says. In the past few months, US security officials revealed that China has tried to spy on and steal information from US pharmaceutical companies and university research groups working on coronavirus vaccines. Scientists have also raised concerns about the ethics of approving a vaccine that is still being trialled for use in the military. Science a priorityIn 2015, China’s President Xi Jinping announced reforms that made science and innovation a key element of modernizing its armed forces, says Elsa Kania, who analyses Chinese military strategy at the Center for a New American Security in Washington DC. The PLA established electronic-, cyber- and space-warfare branches alongside its more conventional army, navy and air force. And in 2016, a Science and Technology Commission, which decides what research is funded, became one of 15 newly formed military 'sections'. “It’s gone from a fairly backward military in the 70s and 80s — large but certainly not professional and not technologically advanced — to a much more formidable military,” says Ni. The reforms also brought the Academy of Military Medical Sciences — which led development of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine — under the umbrella of the Academy of Military Sciences, the PLA’s main military strategy institution, which oversees nine other research institutions. Civilian recruitsBefore the reforms, the PLA recruited scientists either internally or from military universities, partly because civilian scientists didn’t find research positions in the military attractive, says Ni. Uniformed members of the military must fulfil fitness obligations, and working conditions were less flexible than in civilian institutions. But since 2018, the PLA has been recruiting more civilian-trained scientists,making research positions more appealing — and, in particular, has upped its recruitment of medical scientists. The Academy of Military Medical Sciences has recruited 213 civilians for scientific research positions since 2018, making it the second-highest recruiter of scientific talent in the Academy of Military Science’s 10 research institutions, according to an analysis posted online by Kai Lin Tay at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. The Academy of Military Sciences “now relies more on civilians than military cadres to fulfil its scientific research needs,” writes Tay. The military is also increasing its ties to civilian universities in China, as part of a policy known as military–civil fusion, which the Chinese government also announced in 2015. Graduate students affiliated with the PLA and a civilian university are becoming more common. The military–civil fusion strategy highlights biology as a priority research area. The PLA has also been bolstering its scientific expertise by sending researchers abroad. And partnerships between the PLA and the medical-science companies have accelerated since the start of the pandemic, according to Tay’s report. As well as collaborating with CanSino Biologics to develop the Ad5-nCoV vaccine, the PLA has partnered with Beijing Chieftain, which makes disinfecting and medical equipment, since March. On showThe pandemic has provided China with an opportunity to highlight the military's scientific achievements on the domestic and international stage. For instance, PLA epidemiologists and medical workers have had an important role in treating the sick, monitoring the outbreak and overseeing distribution of medical supplies in Wuhan. The military has also assisted with the pandemic responses in Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Italy, by deploying units and supplies. The PLA-developed vaccine could give China additional geopolitical influence with favoured countries being given priority access to the vaccine, says Ian McCaslin, a China military analyst affiliated with Air University’s China Aerospace Studies Institute in Washington DC. CanSino Biologics already has agreements to conduct phase III trials in Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The PLA’s renewed science focus is helping to advance existing military-research projects — in particular in brain science, says Kania. In 2018, PLA neuroscientists published a review outlining how military brain science could influence future wars, for example by using brain-computer interfaces to enhance soldiers' capabilities and by deploying psychological warfare against enemy nations2. Limited insightBecause analysts who study the Chinese military have not traditionally focused on the medical research conducted by the PLA, its true impact remains unknown, says Kania. “We’re still trying to get a handle on how to understand the scope and scale of their activities as well as the quality and competitiveness of their research,” she says. Some research is similar to that conducted by other military forces. The US military, for instance, is developing its own coronavirus vaccine and conducts basic research into trauma and infectious diseases. And some of the PLA’s medical research is designed to maintain a healthy armed force, says McCaslin. “You have a medical need to take care of your soldiers during peacetime,” and to prepare for injuries that might occur during warfare, he says. It's also important to bear in mind that the PLA’s scientific efforts represent only “a small minority of work being done in biotechnology, both within China and globally”, adds Coplin. Cause for concern?Still, some China experts and foreign governments are concerned about the participation of PLA researchers in medical research. In July, the US Justice Department indicted two Chinese nationals for spying on three US-based entities involved in medical research to fight the coronavirus. The US biotech company Moderna, which is trialling one of the world's leading coronavirus vaccine candidates, later told Reuters that it was one of the companies that hackers had targeted. Chinese officials have denied any involvement. “Tech transfer is clearly a policy and priority of the Chinese government at the highest levels and has involved fairly egregious instances of hacking, for purposes of data theft,” says Kania. “This pattern of behaviour is unique to China in the scale and scope as well as the severity of these incidents and the extent to which they contravene the norms of scientific and commercial engagement.” Scientists are also concerned about China’s lack of safeguards to ensure that research on people is conducted ethically, says Kania. It is unclear whether military personnel were given a choice to have the PLA-backed coronavirus vaccine, she says. The researchers who worked on the vaccine did not respond to Nature’s request for comment on such ethics issues. These are legitimate concerns, says Coplin, but she cautions the United States against using them as a reason to stymie otherwise productive collaborations with China. |