Global Counsel, the lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson, was brought in to advise Chinese pharmaceutical company Wuxi AppTech in Europe, months after it was targeted in a US national security crackdown.
Wuxi AppTech last year signed a $3 million contract with the Global Council to deal internationally with claims that it had ties to the Chinese military and was implicated in human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The Global Council offered to help Wuxi AppTech on “geopolitical risk mitigation” in May 2024, shortly after the company was included in the US biosecurity bill over alleged ties to the Chinese government.
Wuxi AppTech agreed to a contract with the Global Council to mitigate the impact of the US action on its global reputation, investigating its operations and controlling its suppliers.
The Global Council said it only works with Wuxi AppTech on European policy issues, not American, and has declared it on the EU’s transparency register.
Wuxi AppTech was one of a handful of Chinese biotech companies cited in a draft bill in January 2024 for having ties to “the military, internal security forces or intelligence agencies of a foreign adversary.”
In February 2024, a group of senators and congressmen wrote to several US government departments asking them to investigate Wuxi AppTech’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the military.
Wuxi AppTech did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Guardian. The company last year publicly denied the claims against it, with its chairman Ge Li signing an open letter in February 2024 blasting the bill as “misguided” and rejecting “blank accusations and preemptive actions” against it.
WuXi AppTech is one of several Chinese companies that have appeared on the Global Council’s client roster in recent years, with others including TikTok and Shein.
The Global Council’s client list and Mandelson’s own ties to China came under scrutiny after he was appointed UK Ambassador to Washington in February 2025. Critics in Beijing said his soft stance and support for closer trade ties made him unsuitable for the role.
Mandelson was dismissed in September after serving only seven months as ambassador following revelations about the extent of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson stepped down as Chairman of the Global Council in May 2024 and ceased advising the business in December 2024. He retains a minority stake, according to the latest company filing from October, but it has now been securitized and the divestment process is underway. It is understood that they have no role in the business and will have no role in the future.
The Global Council’s work with WuXi AppTech is led by its chief executive Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, the former Downing Street head of strategic communications under Tony Blair. The UK government reportedly approached Weg-Prosser for the role of investment minister last year, but he rejected it.
The BioSecure Act, proposed by US lawmakers last year, sought to prevent “rival biotech companies” from receiving federal government funding.
Supporters of the law argued that it was needed to protect the health data and genetic information of American citizens from foreign adversaries and that it was dangerous for China to dominate the biotechnology supply chain.
Wuxi AppTech’s US and European president, Richard Connell, criticized the “baseless allegations” against the company and said it is known for its “long-term and strict adherence to US laws and regulations and respected security protocols”.
In a LinkedIn post in May, he raised concerns about the bill’s “broad impact on US leadership in biotechnology innovation.”
The bill threatens Wuxi AppTech’s business in the US, where it supplies key ingredients for many drugs and generates most of its revenue. It ultimately failed to pass the Senate in 2024 after industry opposition.
A new version of the bill was endorsed last month by the US Senate, which adopted a softer tone and made no mention of the Wuxi companies.
Earlier this month, Wuxi AppTech announced plans to establish its first European headquarters in Germany.
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