BEIJING — China supports appropriate use of human genetic resources for scientific research and encourages international cooperation in this field, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST).

Proper use of human genetic resources for research to develop the biopharmaceutical industry and improve people’s health will be supported, said Xu Nanping, MST vice-minister, at a press briefing on a newly published regulation on the management of human genetic resources.

China will beef up the building of a preservation platform of human genetic resources in the country as well as big data in this field, which will, in accordance with relevant regulations, be open to entities such as scientific research institutions, universities, medical institutions and relevant enterprises, Xu said.

The newly published regulation also stipulated measures to prevent the illegal leak of relevant resources, according to Zhang Bingqing, an official of the ministry.

It stated that foreign units must abide by relevant laws, regulations and rules of China and will have to work with Chinese partners if they need to use China’s human genetic resources for scientific research.

The regulation was published by the State Council and will take effect from July 1.