Chinese‐style policy transfer: Adaptive niche cultivation in the genesis of China's science funding system

Abstract There has been little agreement on the relationship between differences in political regimes and effective policy transfer. This study extends policy transfer theory by exploring China's policy transfer approaches for institutional adaptation during the process of acquiring and localizing foreign policy knowledge, and further focusing on the under‐explored approach of adaptive niche cultivation with an in‐depth case study on the genesis of the science funding system in China. Our findings reveal that the Chinese government has adopted investigation‐based, evaluation‐based, and expert‐driven transfer modes to acquire foreign policy knowledge based on its assessment of the clarity of policy issues and needs. Beyond policy pilot rooted in central–local dynamics and the emphasis on foreign policy knowledge effectiveness, the shielding‐nurturing‐empowering multifunctional role of the adaptive niche cultivation—shaped by the power dynamics between policy makers and experts—offers a useful approach for the Chinese government to realize effective policy transfer in expertise‐reliant fields. This study provides new insights into toolkits that policy makers can use to draw foreign lessons even with differences in political regimes.