Policy transfer: the case of European Union–China cooperation in public administration reform
| Author | Xiao Yu,Yanzhe Zhang |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0020852319841427 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Policy transfer:
the case of European
Union–China
cooperation in public
administration reform
Yanzhe Zhang
Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University
Xiao Yu
Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University
Abstract
This article addresses the Chinese government’s accelerated process of administrative
reform and focuses on the decade-long effort by China to develop transfer policies with
selected European nations. Providing more efficient public services and building a broad
policy capacity in the face of growing internal and external challenges have prompted
the Chinese government’s active engagement in this policy-oriented learning and capac-
ity transfer. New systems of governance through international cooperation programs
have been explored, and new initiatives have been adopted. This article presents a case
study of the China–Europe Public Administration program, which has served as a rich
source of information for government department reform in China. The China–Europe
Public Administration program is a policy hub that provides various examples of policy
transfer regarding public management from the European Union to China. This article
expands the voluntary policy transfer network model as a heuristic approach for under-
standing the administration reform process, especially regarding personnel sector
development in China, and suggests that policy transfer is a rational analytical frame-
work for studying progressive administrative reform in transitional states. In addition, it
is observed that policy hubs, like the China–Europe Public Administration program,
have become key tools for the internationalization of neoliberal public sector reforms.
Corresponding author:
Xiao Yu, Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University, No. 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun Jilin
130012, China.
Email: yux@jlu.edu.cn
International Review of Administrative
Sciences
2021, Vol. 87(1) 3–20
!The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852319841427
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In doing so, this article contributes to the burgeoning policy transfer literature, which
has previously paid little attention to the situation in China.
Points for practitioners
Policy transfer is a rational tool for policymaking and policy innovation. This article
explores the role of the China–Europe Public Administration program as an instrument
of policy learning in public administration reform, particularly in the area of human
resources development. Here, the policy transfer network approach proves to be a
useful heuristic device for organizing the case study, as well as for studying the policy
transfer processes.
Keywords
China–Europe Public Administration program, China National School of
Administration, Chinese civil service system, human resource development improve-
ment, European Union, policy transfer
Introduction
The China–Europe Public Administration (CEPA) program is the largest coop-
eration program between the European Union (EU) and China on public admin-
istration. It aims to address the Chinese government’s need for administrative
reform, while, at the same time, it reflects the EU’s strategies that influence
China. It provides an interspace for the development of China–EU cooperation
on personnel and administrative management reforms, and allows for personnel
exchanges to help with the development of the Chinese civil service system and to
improve human resource management development (see the 2004, 2005, 2006,
and 2007 CEPA Annual Operational Reports). This article examines policy
transfer as an independent variable. It explores how the EU’s policies on
public administration transfer influence the development of China’s governance
processes. The material contained in this article is partly based on a thorough
analysis of the available documentation and the various EU and Chinese web-
sites. The author also conducted interviews with the seven most senior Chinese
officials who were the main actors in the policy transfer process that produced
the CEPA program. The study employed a purposive sampling method to iden-
tify people with first-hand information on how lesson-drawing has shaped public
policy in China. These interviews were conducted in Beijing in September 2017.
Each interview lasted for approximately one hour. The interviews were con-
ducted in Mandarin, but the principal author (Zhang) was not allowed to
record them. As such, he took extensive notes, and the quotations used in this
4International Review of Administrative Sciences 87(1)
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