Biosafety is one of the most important components of national security. The innovation and development of science and technology support national biosafety strategy. To meet the challenges concerning biosafety, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China has funded a series of projects to strengthen the national ability to tackle biosafety problems. We summarized the major achievements concerning:1) the prevention and management of newly or suddenly occurring infectious diseases; 2) the detection and management of invasive alien agricultural pest and pathogen species; 3) laboratory biosafety; 4) construction of biosafety germplasm bank; and 5) gene synthesis and editing technology, since the "12th Five-Year Plan" (2011-2015). We also discuss the biosafety risks and opportunities caused by the development of biotechnology and discipline integration, as well as future suggestions on biosafety science and technologies.