China’s think tanks still need to do more. Is greater research and autonomy the answer?
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping used the term “think tank” for the first time at a core decision-making meeting, explaining how intellectual groups would help push Beijing to improve its governance and policy advisory systems.
Two years later, Beijing released its first comprehensive document to realize this vision, promoting the idea of ”think tanks with Chinese characteristics.” In addition to aiding official decision-making, the document also highlights another key characteristic of these domestic thought groups – soft power tools that enhance China’s “international influence and voice.”
Analysts say the nationwide effort appears to be paying off. In 2022, the Chinese Think Tank Directory listed nearly 2,000 domestic active organizations, ranking China second in the world after the United States. In the latest “Global Think Tank Report”, in 2021, China accounted for nearly 17% of the 11,175 internationally renowned organizations.
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But as Beijing pursues urgent economic reforms amid growing geopolitical competition between the two countries, several prominent Chinese academics say China’s think tanks need to do more.
Despite the rapid expansion and growing global influence of Chinese thought groups, scholars warn that they still have shortcomings in professionalism and scholarship that could limit their influence on the domestic and international stages.
Some experts are also urging these institutions to defend their independence, while calling for more privately funded think tanks to diversify in the public sector, even as China’s discourse space shrinks.
Zheng Yongnian, an academic at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) and a policy adviser to Beijing, told a panel last month that despite significant progress over the past decade, Chinese think tanks still lacked “originality” and produced “a small number of think tanks” . Constructive suggestions put forward in recent years.”
“The current situation [Chinese] The thing about think tanks is… we can immediately apply policies from the West or elsewhere, but with less originality based on our own Chinese experience.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that think tank experts should play a greater role in policy formulation rather than just providing intelligence to the government. Photo: Xinhua alt=Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that think tank experts should play a greater role in policy formulation rather than just providing intelligence to the government. Image source: Xinhua News Agency>
Zhu Xufeng, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, warned that the lack of meaningful research will make it increasingly difficult to influence policymakers.
“Although China’s think tanks are relatively comprehensively developed, the overall quality of research still needs to be improved,” he said.
“We have a lot of think tank research, but they don’t have enough power to influence decision-makers,” the professor said in a speech to a group at the University of Hong Kong.
In 2013, as Xi Jinping emphasized their policy advisory function, China’s think tanks were initially expected to provide intelligence to the government.
Li Cheng, founding director of the Center for Contemporary China and World Studies at the University of Hong Kong, wrote in a 2022 report: “The Ladder of Power and Influence: Chinese Official Think Tanks Worth Watching”“ – Xi Jinping’s clear preference for academics and technologists to participate in policy discussions is a major factor driving their development.
“From Xi Jinping’s perspective, modern governance…requires special knowledge and expertise. China’s economic rise on the world stage, its integration with global financial institutions, its ambition to catch up with more advanced countries in science and technology…all Think tank scholars need to play a greater role in policy formulation.
Professor Zheng from the Chinese University of Science and Technology said that solving the output deficit of Chinese think tanks is a matter of division of labor.
“If we can develop think tanks according to the principle of division of labor, we will all have a comparative advantage… Sometimes, as soon as a research topic comes up, many think tanks will rush to do it, but the actual content is not satisfactory. “The research is not enough,” he said.
Cui Hongjian, director of the European Studies Department at the China Institute of International Studies, a leading Chinese think tank, said it was also crucial for think tanks to balance research quality and dissemination capabilities to build influence.
“China’s think tanks need to perform many functions, including research, communication, and influencing decision-making… But some think tanks are only good at one area and weak in other areas,” he said.
“Chinese think tanks must improve in these three aspects. If the research is solid enough, policy influence will naturally arise and spread.” He added.
Observers warn that the continued lack of valuable output will not only undermine the influence of Beijing’s think tanks but also reduce their influence on the global stage, especially compared with American think tanks.
Wang Lili, an associate professor at Renmin University in Beijing and a member of the National Academy of Development and Strategy, told a panel of experts at the University of Hong Kong that “compared with top international think tanks, Chinese think tanks still lag behind in strategic research and forward-looking issues.”
David, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy, a think tank at Tsinghua University, said that compared with the United States, China’s expert institutions have not yet played a significant role in formulating Beijing’s international strategy.
“Our think tanks have not succeeded in delivering particularly important ideas over the past decade. In contrast, [American] In the past 10 years, think tanks have played a very important role in adjusting Washington’s China strategy.
The role of think tanks in the global competition between China and the West, especially in the fields of knowledge and research, has also attracted increasing attention from observers.
In 2015, the first government document advocating the establishment of think tanks stated that think tanks should also play a diplomatic role in enhancing China’s “international influence and voice”, which is in line with Xi Jinping’s overall plan to promote China’s governance and “tell China’s story well” .
Cui Tiankai of the China Institute of International Studies said that in the context of increasingly fierce competition between China and the West, research results are still the most important way to enhance the international influence of think tanks and enhance China’s soft power.
He told the Washington Post that if Chinese think tanks can provide the world with “better solutions,” especially in the “humanities and social aspects,” then their role could gain a key advantage in confronting major powers.
“If China puts forward an important point of view and a theory in the field of humanities and social sciences, which can make the West feel that China has the ability to improve the world, China’s intellectual circles will have greater international influence and should become a key role of Chinese think tanks in future foreign exchanges. Goals you set for yourself.
But some observers believe gaining more influence on the international stage will depend on how independent China’s think tanks become – most major think tanks maintain close ties to the government and the Communist Party.
Under Xi Jinping, China’s intelligentsia faces the most intense scrutiny since the country opened up. The 2015 think tank document emphasized one of the most important basic principles: adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, adhere to the socialist system, and adhere to the Chinese Constitution and laws.
But it could trigger backlash and skepticism from Western counterparts.
Last May, Nis Gruenberg and Grzegorz Stec, two of Merics’ leading China analysts, warned in their report “Whispering Advice, Roaring Praise: The Role of Think Tanks in China Under Xi Jinping” that foreign academics should be wary of the narratives being developed. Caution was raised by Chinese think tanks.
“Intensified domestic political scrutiny means think tanks are constrained by Beijing’s propaganda red lines, putting Chinese intellectuals and researchers in a difficult position,” they wrote.
“They are tasked with exerting greater influence; at the same time, they are constrained by increasingly rigid narratives and red tape in engaging with overseas partners,” the report said.
However, for Chinese think tanks, adopting Western operating models is not the best solution. Some observers say that think tanks in the West, especially the United States, are showing a tendency toward political division.
“Compared with U.S. think tanks, the relationship between Chinese think tanks and the government is more stable and sustainable. Over the past 20 years, U.S. think tanks have had major problems, with political polarization affecting development,” Tsinghua University’s Da told the Hong Kong University group.
Some observers believe private think tanks could be an antidote to skepticism abroad.
In 2017, Beijing issued an official document to promote the development of privately funded think tanks, but years later they are still excluded from China’s mainstream marketplace of ideas.
Li Wei, former director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said there are about 2,000 think tanks in China, 90% of which are managed by the party-state.
In 2015, when China announced the first batch of 25 high-level think tanks, all of them were state-owned think tanks.
Wang Huiyao, founder of the Center for China and Globalization, a non-governmental think tank, told a Hong Kong University panel that Beijing should continue to encourage privately funded think tanks to increase diversity in domestic intellectual debate.
“Private think tanks will promote the better formation of China’s ideological and policy market, which is very critical. Just like our economy, it must be diversified and cannot be a single component,” he said.
Cui Tiankai of the China Institute of International Studies said that in the case of intellectual decoupling between China and the United States, “social think tanks” – private or non-governmental think tanks – will be subject to fewer restrictions and help deepen exchanges.
“The development of social think tanks in China has filled some gaps in China’s knowledge field. Social think tanks are flexible and can travel abroad without restrictions in many cases,” he said.
“In terms of external exchanges, social think tanks will have more advantages in the future.”
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, explore the SCMP app or visit SCMP on Facebook and twitter Page. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishing Co., Ltd.
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