Think tank europe

The impact of China’s foreign policy think tanks
17/06/2010
Author : Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies (BICCS - Belgium)
By Thomas Bondiguel & Thierry Kellner - BICCS Asia Paper Vol. 5
 
Chinese international relations experts are crisscrossing the world and became prominent voices in academic and policy debates about international affairs. But we still know very little about the Chinese think tank world.

By 2010, China had 428 think tanks, which placed it on a number two position behind the US. Given China’s growing presence on the international scene, think tanks have indeed been consulted more frequently by administrations and senior leaders. Every important institution dealing with diplomacy can now rely on large think tanks for support. Some recent diplomatic concepts like “peaceful development” were conceived in consultations between the top-leadership and prominent advisors.

Think tanks are becoming increasingly topic-specific and a division of labour seems to be developing among different institutes. The quality of research has increased gradually thanks to the experience abroad of many experts, growing competition between experts and more opportunities for open debate.

Much of the interaction between think tankers and the policy makers is still built on a complex system of guanxi and seniority. Study trips abroad and consultation meetings with officials are rewarding activities for researchers who seek influence. The pishi system evaluates the quality and importance experts’ reports.

Besides delivering expertise, think tanks are also expected to convey the government’s viewpoint to audiences abroad. Experts have become an important part of China’s public diplomacy.

Chinese experts tend to be unimpressed with the expert dialogues with the European Union, which they find weak in terms of content and the impact on EU-China cooperation.

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