Asian Diffusion: China’s Governance Promotion and Vietnamese Adaptation (ADAPT)

ADAPT studies how China promotes elements of its labour governance through bilateral cooperation, policy dialogue, and participation in international forums—and how Vietnamese authorities, firms, and workers respond. The project also investigates Japanʼs role as a third actor offering alternative approaches and development assistance.

As a party-state with a socialist market economy, Vietnam shares key institutional features with China. At the same time, Vietnam has maintained ties with countries like Japan and the United States. This makes it a key site for examining how governance ideas from China are interpreted, adapted, or resisted.

By focusing on labour governance—an area often overlooked in diffusion research—ADAPT offers a grounded perspective on how global influence works in practice. ADAPT treats governance diffusion as a contested and negotiated process involving many actors. It examines how ideas and practices travel across borders and how they are shaped by those who receive them.

The project is finances by the Research Council of Norway. Fafo is project leader. Partners include Center for Global Sustainability (Globe) at University of Oslo, and Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (Nupi).