Will the cure for autism be discovered in China? A decade ago this would have been a preposterous question. But today people such as Wang Jian, a genetic researcher with a liking for cargo pants, believe the answer could be yes.
Mr Wang is a co-founder of BGI, the world’s biggest genetic sequencing company. Originally the Beijing Genomics Institute, the company ac-counts for 50 per cent of global gen-etic sequencing capacity and has al-ready mapped out genomes for cancer cells, plants, insects, hum-ans and even the giant panda. Its researchers have also gained an international reputation by pumping out hundreds of peer-reviewed articles a year.
BGI is emblematic of a wider trend among Chinese companies: a shift to compete through innovation and counter China’s reputation as a copycat manufacturer of cheap products.