CX Daily: How China Is Sharpening Ethics Rules for Scientific Research

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He Jiankui, who sparked near universal condemnation for creating the world’s first gene-edited babies, hides in face as he leaves the stage of a conference in Hong Kong in 2018. Photo: VCG

Ethics /

In Depth: How China is sharpening ethics rules for scientific research

In late 2018, news of the world’s first gene-edited babies sent shock waves across the scientific community, resulting in almost-universal condemnation for the Chinese scientist behind an experiment that broke ethical norms.

Less than one year later, the country’s top state and Communist Party decision-making bodies jointly announced establishment of a National Science and Technology Ethics Commission, which has since set up three subcommittees covering life sciences, medicine and artificial intelligence.