U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted undeclared biological materials linked to a U.S.-China coronavirus research network in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to documents released by Sen. Rand Paul. The materials were associated with a network centered around Fang Li, a virologist at the University of Minnesota whose lab received funding from the National Institutes of Health.
One instance cited in the documents involved a request in April 2018 from Zhengli Shi, a scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, to Fang Li. Shi asked Li to arrange for a student to transport SARS research antibodies from the United States to China. Li reportedly advised against this, citing "current tension between the USA and China," and suggested an alternative method for shipping the antibodies.
Later, in October 2018, Qibin Geng, a student in Li's lab, offered to send live PEDV, a swine coronavirus, along with a growth protocol to prominent American researcher Ralph Baric. Geng inquired about Baric's shipping address for the live virus. Records indicate Geng had previously earned a degree from an institution affiliated with China's People's Liberation Army but did not disclose any military affiliation on his visa application.
In November 2018, CBP agents at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport intercepted three undeclared vials. These vials, concealed within paper towels and wax film, were from a courier who identified Yusen Zhou of China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences as the source. The courier was again stopped at the Detroit airport in June 2021 while traveling from China, this time carrying 132 vials and a laptop belonging to another individual. The vials were believed to contain a species of fly commonly used in biological research, and the laptop was issued by a U.S. research institution.
Sen. Paul, as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has released multiple batches of documents through his public archive, "The Reading Room." Previous releases have focused on internal doubts expressed by authors of the "Proximal Origin" paper regarding the virus's origins and a halt to a planned border inspection of another virus researcher. Paul has been critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci's alleged funding of gain-of-function research and claims Fauci coerced intelligence analysts to alter findings about the virus's lab origin, alleging a "cover-up" that misled the public.