The impact of China’s foreign policy think tanks
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7/30/2019 The impact of China’s foreign policy think tanks http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-impact-of-chinas-foreign-policy-think-tanks 1/16 BICCS Asia Paper Vol. 5 (5) 1 Thomas Bondiguel and Thierry Kellner The impact of China’s foreign policy think tanks China’s foreign policy think tanks 2 Executive summary - 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. Thomas Bondiguel and Thierry Kellner are associated fellows at BICCS.
Transcript of The impact of China’s foreign policy think tanks
7/30/2019 The impact of China’s foreign policy think tanks
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-impact-of-chinas-foreign-policy-think-tanks 1/16
BICCS Asia Paper Vol. 5 (5) 1
Thomas Bondiguel and Thierry Kellner
The impact of China’s foreign policy
think tanksChina’s foreign policy think tanks 2
Executive summary - 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 littleabout 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 animportant 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.
Thomas Bondiguel and Thierry Kellner are associated fellows at BICCS.
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