Emerging Reflexivity in Transnational Communication

The significance of transnational networking for the development of stem cell science is multilayered. Firstly, due to its complexity, stem cell research requires a wide range of experts working together, such as molecular, cellular and developmental biology, tissue engineering, immunology and genetics, transplantation biology and clinical medicine. For China, a country with a relatively underdeveloped research base, this is a ‘major challenge’ (Yang, 2004, p. 212). Secondly, from the outset of stem cell research, international collaboration has played a crucial role in China’s dissemination of its research findings and upholding global recognition. According to Kostoff and his colleagues’ comprehensive statistical analysis of Chinese scientific performance, in the late 1990s ‘approximately one-quarter of research articles having at least one author with a Chinese address were the result of China’s collaboration with other countries’ (Kostoff et al., 2007, p. 1554). Thirdly, aside from academic competitiveness, the potential economic benefits and the accompanying unknown risks of stem cells (David and Kirkhope, 2005) have not only already triggered an ‘evident’ ‘international investment competition’ (Salter, 2007, p. 280) but also highlighted the need for cross-border endeavor to set patentability criteria for stem cells and to avoid and combat unethical practices (Herder, 2006). Thus, a global network is especially important in China’s attempts to become ‘an integrate part of the fabric of global society [sic]’ (Doering, 2006) and to gain world recognition (Chan et al., 2009). Consequently, as Salter and Jones (2005) rightly point out in their study of the international politics of biosciences, the research programs not only need to address local concerns and societal rules credibly but also must be seen as legitimate by the international scientific industry

Biology · China · Political science · Stem cell · Biomedical Ethics and Regulation · Law