Regulatory Framework and Early Administrative Rationales

In order to examine how the practice of China’s stem cell research has evolved through transnational exchanges, or how research in China has been ‘cosmopolitanized’, it is necessary first to understand how the scientific system functioned at the onset of stem cell research. This provides us with a point of reference to identify subsequent changes in China. Therefore this chapter gives an overview of the regulatory background in the early stages of stem cell research. By early stages, I mean the period between China’s immediate response to cloning techniques after the birth of Dolly in 1997 and the launch of the first ethical guideline in 2003. Not only does this stage cover the first third of the time period in China’s stem cell development (late 1990s until today) but, more importantly, administrative measures and their consequences during this period also form the basis of current discussions on advancing China’s bio-governance

Biology · Business · China · Corporate governance · Guideline · Political science · Stem cell · Biomedical Ethics and Regulation · Law · Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations · Genetics