CACDA-NTI Joint Statement on Shared Priorities for Strengthened Biosecurity and Responsible AI-Biotechnology Innovation

China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA) and Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) Joint Statement on Shared Priorities for Strengthened Biosecurity & Responsible AI-Biotechnology Innovation

Rapid advances in bioscience, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies are transforming global capabilities and driving scientific progress. At the same time, these developments also create new risks, including the potential for malicious actors to exploit bioscience to cause harm. To protect shared national and global security interests, the international community faces a critical imperative to strengthen biosafety and biosecurity through cooperative measures that prevent non-state actors from misusing modern biology. This is a challenge that no country can manage alone.

Recent U.S.-China Track II biosecurity discussions have demonstrated significant agreement on the nature of the biosecurity risks facing both countries and the importance of forward-looking oversight and responsible practices to achieve our shared objectives.

Building on these exchanges—and recognizing the value of sustaining Track II channels—the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA) call on the international community to:

1. Elevate cooperation on preventing non-state actor misuse of modern bioscience and biotechnology as a shared priority.
2. Participate in joint international efforts to assess emerging biological risks, including at the nexus of AI and the life sciences, and to advance practical solutions that strengthen global safety and security standards.
3. Invest in biosecurity innovation, including the development of technical guardrails to ensure rapidly advancing AIxBio capabilities are protected from misuse and used safely and responsibly. This will be important for ensuring that AIxBio capabilities benefit society, advance human wellbeing, and support economic development.
4. Pursue mandatory nucleic acid synthesis and customer screening requirements, aligned with respective domestic laws and practices to address current and emerging biosecurity risks arising from rapid technological advances.
5. Support experts in jointly developing governance standards for oversight of dual-use life science research to serve as a reference for effective governmental decision-making.
6. Develop national and international frameworks to guard against the risks posed by mirror life, reaffirming the shared view that such organisms should never be created, and to support non-governmental efforts by experts to strengthen these frameworks.
7. Continue investing in the next generation of biosecurity leaders through exchanges, workshops, joint trainings, and participation in ongoing biosecurity dialogues.

This statement reflects our shared commitment to responsible bioscience and biotechnology research and development. We believe that by elevating biosecurity as a strategic priority and advancing coordinated, practical measures to reduce emerging biological risks, the international community can strengthen global biosecurity governance and help ensure that modern biology is safeguarded from malicious exploitation while preserving its immense societal benefits.