Diffeomorphism invariance of a vector field is equivalent to commuting with its local flow (${\alpha }_{\ast }X=X⟺\alpha {\varphi }_t={\varphi }_t\alpha$)

The chain rule shows that $\alpha {\varphi }_t{\alpha }^{-1}$ is the local flow of the pushforward of a vector field ${\alpha }_{\ast }X$. If this equals $X$, uniqueness of integral curves of a vector field gives commutation. Conversely, differentiate the commuting identity at $t=0$ to obtain $d{\alpha }_p{X}_p=X_{\alpha (p)}$. All identities hold on their common domains; the vector field need not be complete.