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Explora: Environment
and Resource The development of the river chief in Nantong and Huzhou

the goal of the river chief system changed from a focus on the River Chief System in 2014.” Unlike Nantong, Huzhou
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improving water quality to a focus on the modernization is part of Zhejiang Province and waited until late 2017 to
of the entire river management system and river network issue its provincial-level guidance (the “Zhejiang River
construction across the province. Chief System Regulations”). As a result, Huzhou was able
Intriguingly, while expanding the goal of the river to choose how it was going to develop its river chief system
chief beyond water quality, provincial leaders elected to without the guidance and coercive pressures of a superior
simplify the choice of policy tools that had previously governing authority.
been used by Wuxi and other municipalities. Interviews This resulted in the development of a river chief
indicated that they did this deliberately, knowing that system that involved a considerable amount of what
municipal officials needed some room to maneuver once is often discussed as hard learning, where Huzhou
the policy was transferred back down, but “did not want to officials consulted a range of different river chief models.
see a considerable expansion in the range of models being Consequently, we found that the transfer processes
developed” (AAA, interview, 8 October 2019). We want to Huzhou undertook culminated in a system considerably
emphasize this aspect of the process because much of the more compatible with their structural and water quality
literature associated with authoritarian systems overlooks needs than was the case in Nantong.
how provincial leaders view their role as guides rather than Importantly, we found that huzhou policymakers
dictators of the transfer process in China.
actively engaged in a hard learning process with the belief
Comparing the policy texts of the river chief system in that they could discover how to embed core local party and
Nantong and Jiangsu Province, despite the somewhat vague government leaders in water management while designing
nature of some elements in the Provincial documentation, a system that would be capable of holding core agents
Nantong chose to copy much of the language and core accountable for river basin governance as river chiefs (z,
elements of documentation issued by Jiangsu. Specifically, interview, 6 january 2020). As part of this, huzhou integrated
we found that Nantong made only slight adjustments in three concepts (later transferred up to the provincial level).
the expression of the basic principles in their river chief First, huzhou worked to develop and refine specific water
documentation and did not change the basic spirit of control targets. To do this, huzhou put forward “three
provincial policies. Nantong followed the provincial clean and three improve” goals that the river chiefs could
policies in terms of the river chief’s guiding ideology, goals be held accountable for achieving. These were themselves
and tasks, organizational construction, and core measures. grouped into categories that specified that: the riverbank is
As such, from the perspective of transfer, Nantong’s river clean, the river is smooth and clean, the water quality of the
chief belongs closer to a copy than a mixture and falls river course is significantly improved, riverbank greening
well below the transformations needed to be considered is significantly improved, and the pollution intercepting
an assortment of different policies when viewed from the capacity is significantly improved. The alterations made to
perspective of Jiangsu Province (Figure 1). 3 these goals are important because they show that learning
Significantly, this shows that when looking at transfer, and adaptation occurred in the transfer process.
it is important to consider the level of magnification being Second, in Huzhou, the responsibilities of river
observed. When examined from the perspective of Jiangsu, chiefs at different levels of government are explicitly
Nantong appeared to have engaged in little change; established. The river chief documentation creates three
however, when Nantong’s river chief is viewed from Wuxi, core responsibilities for the municipal river chief as being:
it appears to be more of a hard mixture because of the (i) the examination and approval of the work program,
adjustments made by Jiangsu Provincial leadership and (ii) work promotion and coordination, and (iii) the
Nantong’s officials. assessment of county-level river chiefs. Implementation
further defines five responsibilities for county-level river
3.2. Huzhou: Assortment of policies chiefs: (i) formulating and organizing the implementation
Huzhou issued its river chief documents, “Implementation of comprehensive water environment treatment plans and
Plan of Establishing the River Chief System in Huzhou, in annual plans for river chiefs, (ii) enhancing information
2013,” and the “Implementation Opinions on Deepening disclosure, (iii) organizing the supervision and assessment
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of township river chiefs, (iv) reporting the annual plan and
3 This is not a surprising finding. Nantong is under the summary, and (v) ensuring the delivery of key projects and
administrative control of Jiangsu. As a result of China’s works progress on time. 47-49
hierarchical governing structure, policy outcomes tend to
be closer to copies when higher-level governing authorities Third, as a result of learning about its internal structural
issue policy documents and guidelines. problems and how other jurisdictions dealt with the

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 6 doi: 10.36922/EER025110018