I suspect the lab was merely a private business.
One can be sure the Chinese government is keen on many aspects of biotechnology research.
The Chinese government aims for China to be #1 in all important things.
We used to have a similar strategy in the USA.
Or, doing what for whom?
Gotta be one of the two if it's a business.
Well, now: We suspected the government knew.
Either the staffer is lying or telling the truth.
Now it’s Occam’s Razor:
Presuming the latter, the only way his boss would know would be if the federal government approved of the lab, or at a minimum knew everything about it.
I, for one, don’t require additional evidence that the federal government long ago crossed the threshold as enemy of the people.
Rationalizing this any other way is, frankly, disturbing.