Biosecurity Law of the People's Republic of China came into force on 15 April 2021. Relying on the support of the National Social Science Foundation's major project "Research on the Legal Regulation of Biodiversity Conservation under a Holistic System View", Qin Tianbao, a professor and director of the Institute of Environmental Law, has actively participated in the implementation of the Biosafety Law, and has published papers, given interviews and been invited to give lectures to convey the spirit of the Biosafety Law.

Since 2020, the Party Central Committee, with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core, has attached great importance to biosecurity work and made a series of major plans for national biosecurity strategies, policies and biosecurity legislation. The Biosafety Law, which was considered and adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in October 2020, is a fundamental, comprehensive, systematic and overarching law in the field of biosafety, and its promulgation and implementation marks a new stage in the governance of biosafety in China.

On 1 April, Prof. Qin was invited as the only legal expert to attend a symposium on the implementation of the Biosafety Law held by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing. Li Zhanshu, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, attended the symposium and delivered a speech. Wang Chen, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, presided over the symposium, and Shen Yueyue and Ding Zhongli, vice chairmen of the Standing Committee of the NPC, attended. Comrades in charge of the Central Office of State Security, the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the NPC, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Justice spoke at the symposium.

On 12 April, Prof. Qin published an article entitled "Milestones in Biosafety Legal Regulation" in People's Daily, explaining the Biosafety Law from an academic perspective. The article explains the significance of the Biosafety Law, summarizes the highlights of the Biosafety Law, and looks forward to the future development of the biosafety legal system. The article has been read by nearly 450,000 people.

In addition, Prof. Qin also published an article entitled "The Path to Establishing a Sound Biosafety Rule of Law System" in the People's Daily News, in which he proposed to establish a sound biosafety rule of law system in China from four aspects, including clarifying the objectives of the biosafety rule of law system, improving the basis for biosafety legal regulation, establishing a sound system for biosafety risk prevention and control, and enriching the measures for biosafety legal regulation. In his paper " Biosafety Law: A Centralised Embodiment of the Principle of Risk Prevention" published in People's Forum, he pointed out that the Biosafety Law is guided by ecological holism, Xi Jinping's thought on ecological civilisation and Xi Jinping's thought on the rule of law, with risk prevention as the fundamental and overarching principle, and in response to the characteristics of biosafety risks. The principle of risk prevention is centrally embodied and fully implemented in the system, institutions and mechanisms.

To promote and introduce the important value and implementation significance of the Biosafety Law, Prof. Qin was also interviewed by a number of central media including CCTV, China International Television, China Central Radio and Television, People's Daily, Rule of Law Daily and Democracy and Legal System Magazine of the Chinese Law Society, etc. He comprehensively explained the basic concept of biosafety, the role played by biosafety in the national security concept, the relationship between the Biosafety Law The interview also covered the significance and highlights of the Biosafety Law, the special contribution of the Biosafety Law in dealing with new outbreaks of infectious diseases such as the New Coronavirus outbreak, and the effective interface between the Biosafety Law and existing relevant laws.

After the adoption of the Biosafety Law, Prof. Qin also participated in a number of local promotional activities. On 11 March 2021, he was invited to participate in the programme "Biosafety on the Edge" organised by the relevant organs of the Provincial Party Committee and Hubei Integrated Channel. In addition, Prof. Qin Tianbao was invited to be a member of the "Wuhan Municipal Delegation for Learning and Implementing the Overall National Security Concept", and participated in the Wuhan Municipal Seminar entitled "Inheriting the Red Gene, Building National Security".

At the end of 2020, Prof. Qin was invited by the Hubei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Party Committee of Wuhan Academy of Agricultural Sciences to participate in the "Promotion of GMO safety regulations" and the 2020 central study group. Prof. Qin introduced the framework and principles of the Biosafety Law and its core contents; explained in detail the system related to agricultural biotechnology research and development in China in the light of the current situation of biosafety in China; and clarified the legal obligations and risks of agricultural practitioners in the light of the new crown epidemic.

Prof. Qin has long been engaged in the research of biodiversity law including biosafety, and has achieved fruitful research results, great academic influence and good social recognition in this field. During the legislative process of the Biosafety Law, he was actively involved in the drafting of the legislation and related provisions, and his research reports were adopted by the National People's Congress, relevant departments and the Chinese Law Society. After the adoption of the Law, Prof. Qin actively participated in various implementation activities and was welcomed and praised by all relevant departments and units.

Edited by Yuan Yuhang & Wu Liuqing