OBJECTIVE  To clarify the academic connotation and analytical framework of power relations, so as to promote the modernization and reform of drug safety governance in China in the new era.

METHODS  Based on the social construction characteristics of power, this paper established a three-dimensional analytical framework of "subject-space-form" of power relations. From the perspectives of government leadership, government-market relations, and government-society relations, the comparative analysis of power space and formal characteristics was conducted in the collaborative governance practices of drug safety in 3 representative countries, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

RESULTS  The attention allocation and strategic use of power relations in typical countries had been discovered.

CONCLUSION  It is suggested that China should strengthen the cultivation of situational government leadership, keep the "invited" power space continuously open, and focus on collecting and providing Chinese experiences to understand the balance between power imbalance and inclusiveness, so as to create a favorable environment for the formulation and improvement of national health promotion policies, and better stimulate the social efficacy of drug safety governance.