In Depth: How China Is Sharpening Ethics Rules for Scientific Research

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

Less than one year later, the country’s top state and party decision-making bodies jointly announced establishing a National Science and Technology Ethics Commission, which has since set up three subcommittees covering life sciences, medicine and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors.