Back China has Accelerating Ambitions in Biotechnology – Time for the U.S. & E.U. Bio-Economies to Evolve – Together

by Hendrik Waegeman (Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant/Biofuels Digest) ... I often feel like I’m somewhere between Tocqueville and Borat — impressed by American innovation, but puzzled by the anti-science politics that seem to hold it back. Europe, meanwhile, is often viewed as a distant and vague ally — when, in fact, it has accessible and complimentary state of the art infrastructure and expertise. At the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, we see urgent need for U.S. and European biotech to work together.

The foundational companies of modern industrial biotech — from Beyond Meat to Ginkgo, Geno, Amyris, Evolva and LanzaTech — have blazed a trail we all follow. But translating this world-changing science into commercial scale businesses remains painfully difficult and slow. The hype-cycle-failure-retry loop exhausts investors and founders alike. If we’re serious about growing beyond niche status, we need to accelerate scale-up, speed products to market, and maintain momentum.

If you’ve followed China’s rise in biotechnology, you know how serious this competition has become. Beijing has poured enormous state funding into production infrastructure and startups. Western investors, drawn by R&D costs one-seventh of those in the U.S., have helped fuel a surge in Chinese biotech patents, licenses, and clinical trials. And yet, even as layoffs mount, the implications haven’t fully sunk in. Industrial biotechnology shouldn’t feel immune. Whether you’re in drug discovery, enzyme optimization, biobased chemicals, alternative proteins, biopesticides, or colorants — we all face the same rising tide and that tide is red.

At the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, near Brussels — NATO’s backyard — I’m often asked to speak about the global bioeconomy and when I do these days, I also hear another kind of conversation regarding China. Much U.S. strategic thinking now assumes a direct U.S.– China military conflict within the next five years. That sounds extreme, but it’s rooted in economic dependency.

China already dominates the production of antibiotics and amino acids — creating a strategic choke point for the West. Few realize that China is rapidly expanding into industrial enzymes, alternative proteins, and biobased polymers.

Engineers solve problems — and China has plenty of them. Combine that mindset with a relaxed attitude toward intellectual property and you get a country willing to “borrow” whatever it needs. Many of us have seen Western microbial strains or agricultural technologies mysteriously reappear in China.

The EU, with its many member states, often struggles to take a unified stance The U.S., burned by China’s product dumping policies, has grown more protectionist. Tariffs, trade wars, and reshoring efforts followed — some smart, others misguided. Meanwhile, Chinese electric vehicles are flooding Europe. Without coordinated defenses, European automakers are at risk.

Industrial Biotechnology: The Next Front

While the public spotlight stays on pharma and EVs, China’s industrial biotechnology quietly advances. Take amino acids, an important segment of industrial biotechnology. In this multibillion-dollar business, China has built substantial production capacity, acquired additional regional capacity, and now dominates.

Or look at Cathay Biotech, once a struggling fermentation company. After burning through $200 million on ABE fermentation, it pivoted to long-chain diacids and diamines — and is now forward integrating into construction and auto composites. Publicly traded and profitable, Cathay may have become the world’s most successful standalone industrial biotech company.

China’s overbuild in polylactic acid capacity is well documented and it is now investing heavily in fermentation for plant-based proteins. It’s important to remember China lacks the U.S.’s vast agricultural resources, and it faces growing demand from a rising middle class. Alternative proteins aren’t just innovation for China — they’re a necessity.

The next Chinese five-year plan (2026–2030) has a strong focus on biotechnology and will likely pour even more investment into industrial biotech. Unless the U.S. and E.U. work together efficiently, China will beat us on speed and scale.

The U.S. leads in research and innovation; Europe excels in scale-up. By working together, we can match China’s efficiency while preserving the openness and creativity that drives true progress.

At the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, we advise startups to solve important problems, build diverse portfolios, and scale through partnerships. Manufacturing takes more than one company. We tell founders: divide the risks, focus on time to market, and avoid the distraction of owning facilities too soon. READ MORE