TheauthorispresidentofthePangoalInstitutionTobuildnew-typethinktanksisanimportantpartofChina’seffortstoupliftitssoftpowerandimprovethegovernancesystem.Thedevelopmentofthinktanksincountriesaroundtheworldimpliesthatthestrongeracountry’scomprehensivestrength,themoreprominentitsroleintheinternationalsystemwillbe.Inthiscontext,therehasbeenastrongerneedforthinktanksinChinainthepastfewyears,resultingintheirfastergrowth.
Chinesethinktankshaveplayedprominentrolesnotonlyinadvisingdecision-makers,butalsoindiplomacy.Forexample,atthePangoalInstitution,wehavefocusedonSino-U.S.relations,NortheastAsiaandSoutheastAsia,andalsoconductedresearchonissuesliketheBeltandRoadInitiativeandglobalgovernance.Wehaveutilizedtheadvantagesofnon-governmentalthinktanksincludingflexiblemechanisms,aquickresponseanddiverseresources.Wehavealsocarriedoutexchangeswithformerpoliticalleaders,parliamentmembersandthinktankscholarsinthesecountries,andplayedourroleinhelpingdevelopChina’sglobalpartnershipsandpromotecoordinationandcooperationamongmajorpowers.
EventhoughChinesethinktanksareinanewstageofrapiddevelopment,theyfacemanychallenges.Sometraditionalthinktanksdon’thaveagoodunderstandingofthefunctions,featuresandpositioningofthenewtypeofthinktanks,andtheexistingorganizationalframeworkcannotadapttonewsituationsandrequirements.
Someoftheresearchresultslacksufficientforward-lookingmodelsandinnovation.Thelimitedcapabilityofinternationalcommunicationhasresultedinalackofinternationalinfluence.Theeffectivecoordinationandintegrationbetweenvarioustypesofthinktanksarestillnotenough.
Tocopewiththeseproblems,weneedtomakeeffortsinmanyareas,suchasestablishinganational-levelthinktankcoordinationsystem,upgradingtraditionalthinktanksandpromotingthedevelopmentofthinktanksaffiliatedtolocalgovernments,enterprisesandmediatoformagroupofthinktanksatmultiplelevelswithvariousfunctions.
TheconstructionofthinktanksintheWesthasalongerhistoryandmoreabundantexperiences,andmanyoftheirpracticesareworthlearningfrom.ButthinktanksintheUnitedStatesandEuropeboastabouttheir“independence,”atagthattheyequatewithprofessionalism.Asamatteroffact,manyofthesethinktanksaredirectlyaffiliatedtovariousgovernmentagencies,which,togetherwitharmedforcesandpoliticalparties,makeupthemainclientsofsuchresearchinstitutions.
IntheUnitedKingdomandGermany,thinktanksaremorecloselyrelatedtothegovernmentthanthoseintheUnitedStatesandhavemoreobviouspartisanpositions.Manythinktanksareattachedtoapoliticalpartytoachieveinfluenceonpoweranddecision-makingandhaveaclearideologicaltendency.
AlthoughmanythinktanksinFranceemphasizetheirpoliticalindependence,theiraffiliations,researchprojectsandactivitiesallimplytheircloserelationshipwiththeirgovernmentorwiththeEuropeanUnion.InCanadaandJapan,alotofthinktanksarefoundedbythegovernment,orhavealargenumberofresearchersfromthegovernment,andgetahighproportionoftheirfundingfromthegovernment.Manyindicatethattheyworkfortheirgovernmentsondecision-making.IntheUnitedStates,thinktanksoftenhaveclearpartisantendenciesandpoliticalvalues.Thereisnoabsoluteindependence.
China’sthinktanksshouldnotduplicatetheWesternmodelbutexploreanewdevelopmentpath.TheyshouldadheretotheleadershipoftheCPCandsocialismwithChinesecharacteristics,ratherthantoutingso-called“independence.”
ThecoremissionofChinesethinktanksshouldbetoprovideopinionswithawideviewinsteadofdevotingexcessiveattentiontofundraising.Theyshouldfocusonstrategicissuesandformadiversifiedthinktankcluster,whichwouldincludethinktanksaffiliatedtopoliticalpartiesandthemilitary,thinktanksestablishedinuniversitieswithsolidacademicbackgrounds,aswellasthosecreatedbysocialgroups.
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledoCommentsto