German media: A large number of think tanks emerge to China's diplomatic ideas

German "Deep News Analysis" web September 27 article, the original title: The Emergence of a think-tank in China has become a key role in international politics.　　Despite countless commentaries and reports about its economic and political rise, little is known about the knowledge revolution that the country is currently experiencing. Since the opening up of the country and the end of Mao Zedong's political model in the early 80, China has discovered the Confucian knowledge tradition, and now emerges a new way of thinking.　　A new study suggests that young, intelligent, knowledgeable and multilingual analysts are joining China's think-tank, injecting fresh blood into research institutions and bringing new research methods. This phenomenon is not surprising at all.　　Thomas Bondignerle, a deputy researcher at the Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies in Brussels, said that by 2010 China had 428 think tanks, the number second only to the United States in the world. "With China's growing influence on the international scene, the government and top leaders are increasingly seeking advice from the country's think-tank," according to the report, published in the latest issue of the Asia study. Every important department dealing with diplomacy now has the support of a large think-tank. Some of the diplomatic concepts emerging in recent years, such as ' peaceful development ', have been generated by the interaction between top leaders and renowned advisers. "In addition to contributing expertise, China's think-tank will also serve as a role in conveying government views to foreign audiences."　　The report argues that experts and scholars have become an important part of China's public diplomacy. The report says few people are aware of the infiltration of informal diplomacy and think tanks into China's diplomatic institutions. In the current rapidly changing environment, Beijing is trying to cope with the increasingly complex problems it faces.　　In this context, the image of the monolithic national institution has become increasingly inconsistent with the facts. In the United States, there are often "revolving doors" between think-tanks and officials. China's think tanks are different, but still have some degree of interaction with officials, largely determined by the semi-official nature of the think-tank. But when it comes to the close relationship between the Chinese think-tank and the government, academics are generally dissatisfied with the lack of interaction with officials. In addition to the exchanges between the head of the think-tank and the leaders, the relationship between the think-tank and the authorities seems more one-way. A European expert said she had to ask for feedback from the authorities after the China-EU summit. However, the Chinese government appears to be increasingly incorporating think tanks into the decision-making process, a phenomenon that will surely change in the future. ▲ (author Jaya Lamachandrang, Wang Analysis)