From evidence to implementation: a stakeholder power-interest and social network analysis of potassium-enriched low-sodium salt governance in China.

Objective: To characterize the stakeholder landscape and documented governance relationships surrounding the promotion and implementation of potassium-enriched low-sodium salt in China, and to examine institutional and relational patterns relevant to evidence translation. Methods: We conducted a structured desk review of 115 publicly accessible policy and regulatory documents, industry and implementation materials, and academic and grey-literature sources identified through searches completed in April 2025. Stakeholders were classified by sector and jurisdiction. Two coders independently assessed stakeholder power and interest using predefined documentary criteria and mapped stakeholders into four power-interest categories. Social network analysis was used to examine documented policy/regulatory, technical advisory, collaboration, and advocacy/promotion relationships. Results: Eighty-three stakeholders were identified across eight categories. Government agencies constituted the largest group (36, 43.4%), followed by professional associations (20, 24.1%) and academic institutions (14, 16.9%). Eight stakeholders (9.6%) were classified as Key Players, 21 (25.3%) as Supporters, 27 (32.5%) as Potential Allies, and 27 (32.5%) as Monitored Stakeholders. Key Players were concentrated among a small number of government, public-health, industry, professional, and media actors, whereas many high-power government bodies had limited documented potassium-enriched low-sodium salt-specific engagement. The four relationship-specific networks contained 25-57 participating stakeholders and had low densities of 0.03-0.10. Policy/regulatory relationships were centered on national and provincial health authorities, while advocacy and technical advisory ties were concentrated around the collective categories of the public and healthcare providers, respectively. Conclusion: The documented stakeholder landscape was characterized by uneven alignment of power, interest, and institutional connectivity. These patterns present governance challenges for evidence translation but do not establish the causes of limited scale-up. Stronger engagement among high-power actors and clearer coordination across regulatory, technical, industry, and implementation networks are needed to support wider implementation of potassium-enriched low-sodium salt.