Chinese think tanks strive for global influence

China's think tanks, which have received little exposure in the past, have recently enjoyed significant attention from the media and policy makers, although they still have a way to go before they become influential on the global stage.

At the end of June, the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University held a think tank forum themed "The Silk Road Economic Belt Construction and Future" in Beijing.

The forum brought together think tank representatives from 12 countries, including Central Asian countries as well as the United States, Russia, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Chinese think tank scholars actively responded to questions and doubts about the Silk Road Economic Belt, proposed by the Chinese government in 2013, explaining how it will benefit each relevant country.

"Chinese think tanks should do more of this kind of work. This forum is an important milestone in the globalization of Chinese think tanks," said Professor Zhao Changhui, chief country risk analyst at the Export-Import Bank of China. "It is very difficult for Chinese think tanks to gain global influence," said Professor Yang Shu, director of the Institute for Central Asian Studies at China's Lanzhou University.

Wang Wen, executive vice dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, agreed about the difficulty. "In order to be influential in the world, Chinese think tanks should have an international perspective and full-time foreign employees. To influence think tanks in other countries, we need to maintain contact with foreign policymakers. Chinese think tanks have just taken first step in this long road," Wang said, "Compared with Chinese enterprises, Chinese think tanks are less globalized and less able to influence international issues."

China boasts the largest number of think tanks after the United States, according to the 2013 Global Go To Think Tanks Report released by the University of Pennsylvania. The Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies is one of China's most active think tanks. It held China's first International Think Tank Conference last year, which provided important consultancy for the G20 summit held in Russia.

More than 10 former international dignitaries have joined the Chongyang think tank so far, including former Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati, now president of the Center for Strategic Research in Iran.