Deemed one of the greatest allies of the United States, the United Arab Emirates has been on the forefront to help America in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. However, while being on the route of assistance, the Gulf nation has been making ways to fulfill the intentions of the US’ greatest rival, China.
The Chinese genetics company, BGI Group has been manufacturing the coronavirus testing equipment, which are being used by the Emirates to test its citizens. The firm had also been attempting to enter the American market, but the US intelligence and security officials have raised continuous warnings against the use of these testing kits.
An investigation revealed that the BGI Group used the UAE’s top spying firm, Group 42, and the George H.W. Bush Foundation to promote its efforts. The Chinese testing equipment were attempted to be sold in 11 US states. While the other states denied to purchase them, some were used in Nevada.
The US Intelligence officials had raised security concerns, stating that BGI had a history of misusing the personal data of patients. Besides, there were public warnings from the officials that the gene-sequencing machines being sold by the Chinese company posed privacy risks, as they can be used to record patients’ DNA.
At least two of the US federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, neglected these warnings from the intelligence officials, as they continued to persuade the US states to use the Chinese testing kits. Reports revealed that these federal agencies received the BGI testing equipment from Abu Dhabi.
The only state to use the testing kits, Nevada received the BGI products from Group 42, the artificial-intelligence company of the UAE. The Emirati company is linked to the royal family member Tahnoun bin Zayed, who has also been accused of spying on his own citizens using a messaging app ToTok.
Group 42 had been closely associated with the BGI Group, where they had been conducting the Covid test on the UAE citizens under the Emirates’ mass testing campaign. They have also been working on a project to collect the genetic data of Emiratis to “generate the highest quality, most comprehensive genome data”.
The US counterintelligence officials have been aware of the growing interaction between the two firms. BGI and Group 42 also made a joint effort to sell the Chinese testing kits to a US Embassy in the Middle East, but were refused.
Tahnoun bin Zayed’s firm, Group 42, and the Emirati authorities are known for spying and surveilling its own citizens. The country follows repressive rules of law, under the table decorated with modernism. However, by supplying China’s deceptive testing kits to the US, the UAE has probably dug the grave for its strongest alliance. It could possibly jeopardize the relations, especially under the presidency of Joe Biden.
