Policy experimentation in the construction of ecological civilisation in China

Human society is facing unprecedented challenges of climate change, energy shortages and environmental degradation. China’s national strategy of ecological civilization construction is a direct response to these challenges. Building ecological civilization entails fundamental transitions of socio-ecological systems. Various approaches of adaptive governance are hence adopted to manage the complex and uncertain transitional process, of which policy experimentation constitutes a key component. This chapter explores China’s approaches of policy experimentation in the construction of ecological civilization. Building upon a historical and systematic analysis of the policies and practices of ecological civilization construction, the chapter distinguishes three phases of ecological demonstration in China and unveils three key characteristics of China’s adaptive governance, namely of pragmatism, incrementalism and verticality.