China Policy Journal Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2019 | Page 14

Chinese Foreign Policy Think Tanks’ Policy Influence
2. A Review of Literature on
Chinese Think Tanks and
China’s Policymaking
2.1 The Literature on Chinese Think
Tank Studies
The Chinese-Western Differentiation
on Chinese Think Tank Studies
The current literature on Chinese think
tanks reveals several differences between
Chinese domestic scholars and
western scholars (including overseas
Chinese scholars): (1) A Differentiation
of Research Fields and Domains.
Domestic scholars aim at displaying a
panoramic picture of various types of
Chinese think tanks embedded in China’s
complex public administration system,
whereas western scholars mainly
concentrate on Chinese foreign policy
think tanks, hoping to precisely define
their relevance in foreign policymaking.
(2) A Divergence of Paradigms
and Perspectives. Domestic scholars
analyze Chinese think tanks’ inherent
characteristics, interpreting their social
nature as government advisors or
public advocates. In other words, they
are more focused on ontological issues.
On the other hand, western scholars approach
this field through an epistemological
lens of Chinese foreign policy.
They highlight Chinese foreign policy
think tanks’ interactions with China’s
top leadership, painstakingly tracing
their imprints in top-level politics, with
a particular interest on their channels
and means to exert influence. (3) A
Disparity of Methodology. Domestic
scholars adopt more quantitative-oriented
methodologies of sociology and
public administration to carry out their
analyses, while most western scholars
prefer to employ qualitative-oriented
skills of foreign policy analysis and political
science.
Domestic Scholars’ Research on
Chinese Think Tanks
Domestic scholars’ research of Chinese
think tanks has several characteristics.
First, they often take the paradigms
of elitism and technocracy theories as
their starting point for describing think
tanks’ social status in China, emphasizing
their special social status and
explaining the significance of their development
in China’s strive for scientific
transformation of its policymaking
(Wang and Zhang 2003; Zhu 2008,
2013a, 2013b). Second, the sociological
and philosophical paradigms and
perspectives, such as “social capital,”
“social space,” and “public sphere,” are
frequently employed to explain the advantages
that Chinese think tanks enjoy
when they are participating in China’s
policy process and bringing their policy
influence (Xu 2012; Xin 2017;). Third,
well-structured and rigorously-designed
surveys are constantly employed
as a means to collect vast quantities of
data and establish statistical models.
Based on these models, their pictures of
Chinese think tanks become more distinctive
( Xu 2012; Zhu 2008).
Western and Overseas Chinese Scholars’
Research on Chinese Think Tanks
The observations by western and overseas
Chinese scholars on Chinese think
tanks form a three-stage process in pace
with China’s social and political transi-
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