While other works have explained difficulties in applying ‘international’ guidelines in the field of regenerative medicine in so-called low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in terms of ‘international hegemony’, ‘political and ethical governance’ and ‘cosmopolitisation’, this article on stem cell regulation in China emphasises the particular complexities faced by large LMICs: the emergence of alternative regulatory arrangements made by stakeholders at a provincial level at home. On the basis of ethnographic and archival research of clinical stem cell research hubs, we have characterized six types of entrepreneurial ‘bionetworks’, each of which embodies a regulatory orientation that developed in interaction with China’s regulatory dilemmas. Rather than adopting guidelines from other countries, we argue that regulatory capacity building is more appropriately viewed as a relational concept, referring to the ability to develop regulatory requirements that can cater for different regulatory research needs on an international level and at home.
Funding
Bionetworking in Asia - A social science approach to international collaboration, informal exchanges, and responsible innovation in the life sciences; G0812; EUROPEAN UNION; 283219
Bionetworking in Asia - International collaboration, exchange, and responsible innovation in the life sciences; G0750; ESRC-ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL; ES/I018107/1