The study analyzes for the first time the introduction of a statutory accident insurance system in China in the 2000s, based on extensive field research. With the accident insurance, China has opened itself to the idea of individual social rights, which are not rooted in either Confucian or Sino-Communist traditions. The author demonstrates that this breakthrough is largely attributable to processes of global knowledge diffusion, to which international organizations and, in particular, the proponents of the German statutory accident insurance have contributed. Additionally, the global spread of different models of accident insurance is presented. Theoretically, the diffusion is placed in the context of an emerging world culture.