PUBLI : Simeng Wang, « Circumventing regulation and professional legitimization : the circulation of Chinese medicine between China and France », in : C. Coderey et L. Pordié (dir.), Circulation and Governance of Asian Medicine, Routledge, 2019, p. 139–156.

Abstract

From the case of Chinese medi­cine circu­la­ting between China and France, this chapter aims to high­light some key elements in the rela­tions between trans­na­tional circu­la­tion and the gover­nance of Asian medi­cine. More preci­sely, the chapter focuses on the prac­tices and stra­te­gies adopted by product sellers and illegal prac­ti­tio­ners to circumvent regu­la­tory rules and to legi­ti­mize them­selves profes­sio­nally. Through a three-step analysis (the sales of Chinese medi­cine products, the profes­sional legi­ti­ma­ting of illegal prac­ti­tio­ners, and the trai­ning condi­tions of future Chinese medi­cine prac­ti­tio­ners), the findings illus­trate how circu­la­tion and regu­la­tion affect one another, and demons­trate tight and diver­si­fied links between the ways the actors circumvent gover­nance and how they legi­ti­mize them­selves. Each actor indi­vi­dua­lizes his/​her legi­ti­ma­ting stra­te­gies accor­ding to their profes­sional acti­vity and their resources held. There are there­fore highly diffe­ren­tiated itine­ra­ries of Chinese medi­cine circu­la­tion because of the various regu­la­tion frame­works. As a way of calling for further inves­ti­ga­tion, this paper wishes to advo­cate for the global trajec­tory approach. Trans­na­tional circu­la­tion does not work only by formal regu­la­tion and offi­cial rules. It passes also by unof­fi­cial regu­la­tion frame­works and by indi­vi­duals’ trajec­to­ries and mobi­lity, which deserve serious consideration.