Jon Levine writes for the Washington Free Beacon about a disturbing business relationship involving two Ivy League schools.
A Chinese investment firm—lavishly funded by some of the United States’ most elite institutions, including Yale and Princeton universities—has purchased part of a biotech business that works with the Chinese military and has faced accusations of helping Beijing identify Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Hillhouse Investment Management purchased the tech company WuXi AppTec’s China-based clinical research services business in October, according to a company press release.
“We are confident that Hillhouse’s expertise and teams will enable these businesses to reach new heights and deliver continued excellence in clinical research and site management,” gushed Steve Yang, Co-CEO of WuXi AppTec, in the release.
Multiple elite U.S. universities have poured millions of dollars into Hillhouse. Yale, which invested an initial $20 million in 2005, has since seen a $2 billion return. Stanford in 2015 announced its plans to invest $200 million from its then-$22 billion endowment in the fund. Princeton, as well, has invested some of its $36.4 billion endowment in Hillhouse, though the exact total has not been made public.
In February 2024, former congressman and then-chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) wrote that WuXi AppTec “operates genetic testing centers established in coordination with the [People’s Liberation Army],” allowing Beijing “to identify and separate Uyghur Muslims from other residents.”
Gallagher wrote that “this practice has been a key pillar of the CCP’s genocide in the region.”
The former chairman also warned that the tech company “has received investment from numerous PLA investment funds, including from organizations with a stated goal of investing in companies directly tied to military-civil fusion and military production.”
That same month, intelligence officials told senators that Wuxi AppTec handed over U.S. intellectual property to Beijing without consent.
