China’s digitalised water governance and authoritarian environmentalism

Abstract In recent years, extensive technology adoption has become a notable trend in China’s environmental governance. Although various analytical frameworks such as authoritarian environmentalism have been employed to understand China’s state‐led model of environmental governance, the implications of digital technologies for local governance practices remain underexamined. This study investigates how technology adoption shapes China’s water governance at a local scale, focussing on the River Chief System (RCS) in a southern Chinese city. Our findings suggest that digital tools enhance accountability and further consolidate the top‐down central‐local relationship in China by promoting data‐driven modes of governance but do not fundamentally alter underlying power relations or the broader governance structure. By examining how digitalisation interacts with the local operation of the RCS, this paper contributes to hydropolitical literature by shedding light on how small‐scale technologies may recalibrate the dynamics of power and water. Beyond the Chinese context, this analysis enriches wider debates on digital environmental governance by demonstrating how “smart” water technologies can reinforce existing hierarchies in authoritarian settings and Global South contexts.