China’s decision to ban imports of Illumina’s DNA sequencing instruments, announced in March 2025 as part of a broader trade retaliation against new US tariffs, is rapidly reshaping the country’s genomics landscape. Illumina, which previously held a 34.5% share of the Chinese sequencing market and derived about 7% of its global revenue from the country, now faces a significant setback as it can no longer ship new sequencers to China – though it can still sell consumables for existing machines.\n\nThe ban, which followed Illumina’s placement on China’s “Unreliable Entities List,” is widely seen as both a response to US trade policy and a strategic move to boost domestic and alternative foreign biotech companies. “This ban on instruments merely exacerbates Illumina’s downward trend in the Chinese market,” said Selena Yu, senior medical analyst at GlobalData, noting that Illumina’s China revenues have already been in decline for several years.\n\nInto this vacuum steps PacBio, a US-based rival specializing in highly accurate long-read sequencing technology. PacBio has moved quickly to solidify and expand its partnership with Haorui Gene, a genomics company based in Xi’an, which has already deployed 10 PacBio sequencers for blood typing and HLA testing. Under a new agreement, Haorui Gene will distribute PacBio’s recently launched Vega benchtop system nationwide, supporting both clinical labs and research institutions.\n\n“ This arrangement formalizes a strong foundation and supports our broader goal to make accurate, long-read sequencing standard practice in clinical genomics,” said Christian Henry, President and CEO of PacBio. “Haorui Gene has built deep expertise in one of the most genomically complex areas of medicine. Their leadership in blood group and HLA typing, paired with our HiFi technology, has already delivered real progress in China, making them an ideal partner to help scale access to our highly accurate long-read sequencing technologies across China”.\n\nPacBio’s long-read sequencing is particularly well-suited for applications like blood group genotyping and rare blood type discovery, which require parsing full-length genes and complex polymorphic regions—areas where short-read sequencers like Illumina’s have limitations. Haorui Gene’s network of hospital labs and blood centers is expected to accelerate the adoption of PacBio’s technology, especially as Chinese researchers seek alternatives to Illumina for precision medicine and transfusion safety.\n\nMeanwhile, Illumina has signaled it will focus on other international markets and continue to supply reagents and support for its installed base in China, but the company’s 2025 guidance assumes little further earnings from the country. As the US and China continue to spar over technology and trade, the genomics sector is emerging as a key battleground – one where PacBio now has a rare opportunity to expand its footprint in the world’s second-largest sequencing market.

Amid China’s ban on Illumina sequencers, PacBio moves in to fill space

China's ban on Illumina's DNA sequencing instruments, announced in March 2025 as part of trade retaliation against U.S. tariffs, has created a market vacuum in the genomics sector. PacBio, a U.S. biotech firm specializing in long-read sequencing, has accelerated its partnership with Haorui Gene in Xi’an to expand access to its HiFi technology in China, targeting clinical genomics applications. The move follows Illumina's removal from China's 'Unreliable Entities List' and highlights the growing competition in the sequencing market amid geopolitical tensions.