To improve the efficiency of air pollution control, in this research, a systematic air pollution collaborative governance pathway system was developed from a systemic perspective. The sequencing of air pollution control pathways in the system can significantly affect its efficiency, so the order of the sequence was optimized. To develop the system, first, two case studies on coordinated air pollution control in the U.S. and China were conducted to demonstrate the importance of systematic collaborative governance. Next, based on the analysis of these two cases and a review of the related literature, a systematic coordinated air pollution control mechanism was proposed. The priorities of collaborative governance pathways were evaluated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology. The input to the AHP was data from in-depth interviews with established scholars and practitioners in air pollution prevention and control. Several policy suggestions are put forward based on the expert ranking of the results of the priorities of the collaborative governance pathways. These policy suggestions include identifying the most critical pathways in the cooperative control of air pollution and their order of implementation as well as measures that can effectively reduce pollution. The theoretical contributions of this research include the establishment of a cooperative governance mechanism and the analysis of governance pathways to help develop an efficient air pollution pathway system. The practical contributions of this research include policy suggestions to improve the efficiency of collaborative air pollution treatment and lower its costs.