Collaborative governance in environmental management faces persistent challenges across political systems. This study examines how such governance unfolds under a centralized political system by analyzing China’s River Chief System in the Tai Lake watershed. Building on the collaborative governance regimes framework developed by Emerson, this study proposes an “action-first” collaborative governance framework that captures a two-stage evolution: an initial phase marked by the urgent, top-down deployment of collaborative actions with partial coupling of the three dynamics—principled engagement, shared motivation, and capacity for joint action; and a subsequent phase of comprehensive collaboration characterized by the full coupling of these dynamics through institutionalized, rule-based, and multi-actor governance practices. Our findings suggest that while the core issues of collaborative governance are universal, the solutions may diverge significantly based on political context. This research provides a nuanced understanding of how China’s experiences can inform and enhance collaborative governance practices in centralized governance settings.
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