Chinese President Xi Jinping is reportedly concerned that the U.S. has the capability to design a bioweapon that could target him specifically based on his DNA, according to a new editorial published in The New York Times.
The opinion piece, titled "This Is the 21st-Century Arms Race. Can America Keep Up?", cited a strange incident during a meeting between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November 2023. As the two leaders concluded a working lunch, an aide to Mr. Xi quickly approached the table and sprayed down every surface the Chinese president had touched, including what remained of the dessert on his plate.
American officials concluded the action was intended to "remove any trace of Mr. Xi's DNA" that his hosts might attempt to collect and exploit. An official who attended the meeting told The Times that the concern among Chinese leadership is that "you could design a disease that would only affect one person."
The New Arms Race
The Times editorial board cautioned that humanity is experiencing potentially the fastest advancement in weaponry ever, with innovations in synthetic biology and artificial intelligence poised to fundamentally change warfare.
The board listed several emerging technologies that experts fear could change the world of combat, including:
- Swarms of robotic aircraft that kill targets without any human oversight.
- Advanced cyberweapons that can immobilize armed forces and shut down electrical grids.
- AI-designed bioweapons engineered to kill only those with certain genetic characteristics.
While the U.S. currently leads in some areas, such as AI, the editorial warned that China, Russia, and other authoritarian regimes are "accelerating state investments" and quickly incorporating these innovations into their militaries.
The perceived threat is not isolated. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un previously demonstrated similar paranoia about protecting his DNA, reportedly traveling with his own personal toilet to China and having aides meticulously clean a room where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.