Global Impact of US-China Relations on Japanese Life Sciences Companies

As political and economic tensions between the United States and China continue, new policies, regulations, tariffs, and sanctions implemented by both governments continue to affect businesses in countries around the world. During 2020 and 2021, both governments introduced a number of new rules and actively amended existing rules to address the underlying strategic standoff.

Relations between the United States and China have an effect on the life sciences space. China has targeted the life sciences industry for global competitive advantage and has been taking a range of steps to propel itself to become a major global competitor—starting with developing a world-class generics industry and targeting the biopharma industry as a key sector for global growth in the government’s Made in China 2025 strategic plan. On the US side, concerns about supply chain dependence and Chinese access to US citizens’ genomic data, plus CFIUS’s more stringent and proactive reviews of Chinese capital in US life sciences (even where the targets are only US listed) and potential new lists of technologies subject to export controls, all show increasing regulatory and political scrutiny on cooperation in the life sciences and technology space.

What makes it more complex is that China, in the last two years, has issued a number of laws to counter the United States’ and its “allied” countries’ sanctions and export control policies. As many Japanese companies are becoming more “global,” they are also increasingly concerned about being caught in the middle of the escalating tensions between the two countries. According to Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, Japanese companies are particularly concerned about several new laws and regulations that come into effect recently, such as China’s Unreliable Entity List regime, the new Export Control Law, the Measures for Blocking the Improper Extraterritorial Application of Foreign Laws and Measures, the new Anti-Sanctions Law, and the Cyber Security Law and other data-related laws and regulations.

Given the global nature of many Japanese life sciences companies, adapting to change and take a holistic approach when managing the risk of a conflict of laws between the United States and China is critical.

Please join our partners from China and the United States for a one-hour webinar as they discuss the impact of the US-China tensions on Japanese life sciences companies. They will provide a summary of relevant laws and policies as well as some key considerations on minimizing risks and damages in response to the changing dynamic between the world’s two largest economies. 

Visit our US-China Trading Policy & Global Impact resource page, a centralized portal sharing our insights and analyses.