On February 4, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) will be added to the list of unreliable entities with immediate effect.

According to the announcement, Illumina violated the principles of normal market transactions, interrupted normal transactions with Chinese enterprises, and took discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises, seriously harming the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

According to China's Provisions on the Unreliable Entity List, the relevant authorities may decide to take one or more of the following measures against foreign entities included in the Unreliable Entity List: 1. Restrict or prohibit them from engaging in China-related import and export activities, 2. Restrict or prohibit their investment in China, and 3. Restrict or prohibit the entry of their relevant persons and means of transport; 4. Restricting or canceling the work permits, stay or residence qualifications of their relevant persons in China; 5. A fine of the corresponding amount shall be imposed according to the severity of the circumstances; 6. Other necessary measures.

Founded in 1998, Illumina is a global leader in gene sequencing and is headquartered in San Diego, California. In the first three quarters of 2024, Illumina's operating income was $3.268 billion, of which Greater China revenue was $228 million, down 25% year-over-year.

Illumina and its competitor MGI (688114. SH) is widely known. Since 2019, Illumina has initiated a number of patent and trademark infringement lawsuits against MGI and its subsidiaries in Germany, Denmark and other countries, and MGI has also filed antitrust lawsuits against Illumina in the United States. In July 2022, MGI and Illumina reached a settlement over the U.S. lawsuit, with Illumina agreeing to pay $325 million in net damages to MGI's subsidiary.

In the first quarter of 2024, Illumina spent $380,000 lobbying the U.S. Congress and other agencies, including all provisions of the Biosecurity Act. The Biosecurity Act proposes to restrict the U.S. federal government from doing business with certain biotech providers, including BGI, MGI and its subsidiary Complete Genomics.

In December 2024, the Biosecurity Act was not included in the final agreement text of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the United States, which means that Chinese companies such as MGI will not be included in the relevant sanctions list for the time being. However, under the turmoil of the "Biosecurity Act", MGI's share price will nearly halve in 2024.

On February 4, 2025, the Economic Observer asked the relevant person in charge of Illumina about Illumina's inclusion on the Unreliable Entity List, but did not receive a reply as of press time. As of the close of trading on February 3, Illumina's stock price was $131.1 per share, with a total market capitalization of $20.79 billion.