China Policy Journal Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2019 | Page 7

China Policy Journal
with business, academia, and media are
varied.
The second paper focuses on
University-based think tanks in China.
In their paper “The Influence of
Think Tanks on China’s Mid- to Longterm
Strategic Planning: A Case Study
of the Institute of Contemporary China
Studies at Tsinghua University”, Jiang
Jiaying and Yan Yilong argue that
University think tanks are significant
and valuable sources of great ideas and
thought in China. With a detailed case
study of the Institute of Contemporary
China Studies (ICCS) at Tsinghua
University, which was selected as one
of the 25 “pilot high-end think tanks”,
the authors emphasize the special roles
of the ICCS in providing critical intellectual
support for China’s Five-year
Plans, which are China’s major public
policies in relation to national development.
This study finds that think-tank
development has three aspects: one is to
increase research capability, the second
is to influence decision-making by applying
the results of researches, and the
third is to disseminate knowledge and
transform it into social productivity.
The authors finally propose some suggestions
for the development of university-based
think-tanks in China.
The third paper addresses the
status of social think tanks in the policy
system in China. With the rapid growth
in number and scale, various research
fields, and diversified channels of delivering
intellectual products, Chinese
social think tanks are playing an increasingly
powerful role in advising on
policy-making. However, in their paper
“The Marginalization of Chinese Social
Think Tanks: Causes and Consequences”,
Chen Dingding, Xia Yu, and Wang
You argue that it is undeniable that
Chinese social think tanks have never
been the nucleus of decision-making
structure, even confronted with "marginalization"
for a long time. This article
argues that with the lack of effective
mechanism on presenting policy suggestions,
the unsustainable sources of
funds and talents, and the short of experience
due to a short history under the
unique environment, social think tanks
in China is facing greater challenges.
In the fourth paper entitled “Setting
the Stage for Expert Advice? An
Analysis of National Expert and Advisory
Committees in China”, Li Wei
argues that one major initiative to improve
the quality of policymaking in
China is to consult expert opinions and
use policy analysis in decision-making.
In recent years, more expert and advisory
committees have been established by
the central government in China. Based
on the analysis of 122 expert and advisory
committees established by China’s
central government agencies, the paper
finds that policy advisory bodies have
created administrative linkages for experts
of think tanks to directly influence
decision-makers by policy research and
analysis. The policy advisory bodies
have also contributed to a more open
policy processes and enhanced the authoritarian
regime’s responsiveness by
providing a venue of access to decision-making
for the public. Unlike the
advisory structures in plural and competitive
political systems, China’s national
expert and advisory committees
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