In Decision of the CCCPC on Major Issues Concerning Reform, passed at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Communist Party of China put forward that we should facilitate the building of new think tanks with Chinese characteristics and improve our consultation system for policy-making. In recent years, President Xi Jinping has twice written instructions on building think tanks, pointing out that think tanks are a vital element of our nation`s soft power and we should explore and attach great importance to the form of organization and mode of management of new think tanks with Chinese features. His statements show that think tanks are an important part of advancing the modernization of our nation`s governance system and ability, laying out the overall requirements for building new think tanks with Chinese features.

Think Tank, an Important Component of Modern National Governance System

Think tanks refer to professional institutes that perform research concerning public policy. Its main function is to provide valuable ideas for public policy makers to offer suggestions in dealing with economic, political, social and diplomatic issues. Modern think tanks date back to the 19th century in Western countries, as a result of the division of labor and more scientific and democratic policy-making. Since the middle of the last century, global balance of power and economic order have been in great flux with scientific and technological progress. Nations are confronted with more complicated international situations. To meet the challenge, policy-makers now are in urgent need of think tanks, which exist as a team and could provide high-quality special consultation and policy initiative, instead of individual advisers and aides and staff. Therefore, various kinds of think tanks have witnessed great development by improving consultation services for policy-making and exerted more influence on policy-making, forming a closer relationship with policy-makers. Think tanks now are becoming an important component of the modern national governance system, playing a more important role in national governance. According to data from related institutes, by 2013, there were about 6,826 active think tanks around the world. Before the Second World War，there were 20-odd think tanks in the United States, including the Brookings Institution, and the Hoover Institution; by 2013, there were 1,828 think tanks, forming a better consultation system for policy making, which is adaptable to its social governance system.

Modern think tanks independently put forward public policy initiatives in a professional, objective way, helping policy-makers make or carry out policies and demonstrate and assess the effects of the policies. Due to different social governance systems, cultural tradition and stage of development, think tanks in Western developed countries differ from those in East Asia. The former ones are dominated by social think tanks, which are independent from government, while the latter ones are mainly built by governments of major economies in the later years of the last century, featuring think tanks sponsored by the government. No matter where the funding comes from, all think tanks play an important role in a modern country`s development and governance. In Western countries, governments or parties often discuss and demonstrate with think tanks concerning party platform and introduction of acts and bills. Sometimes suggestions from think tanks are directly adopted. During the Reagan years, the US government dealt with Sino-US relations mainly based on the US think tank Atlantic Council`s report “Policy toward China in the Next Decade”. US think tank the RAND Corp successfully predicted a series of significant international events and studied the strategies behind them, including the launch time of the Soviet Union's first satellite, the withdrawal from Vietnam War, the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations, the Cuban missile crisis, the German reunification. Due to all these achievements, the RAND Corp is now renowned across the world, exerting a great influence on the US government`s policy-making. After the Second World War, all major strategies put forward by the US government are somewhat because of think tanks` suggestion or consultation. What`s more, councilors of Western countries often debate various public policies in legislative institutions. Actually it is the battle of different think tanks` propositions behind them. The “safeguarding comprehensive safety strategy” proposed by Japan Research Institute instructed Japan in dealing with the second oil crisis. Dozens of think tanks funded by the government in Korea, represented by Korea Development Institute, contribute to Korea`s industrialization and modernization, which is recognized by the whole society. It is clear that the quality and level of think tanks are an important part of modern a country`s governance ability.

In general, modern think tanks have four major functions. Firstly, it plays a role in social governance. They can provide new ways of thinking and potential plans for policy-makers, thus influencing their policy-making. They can also discuss and assess relevant plans of action and the effects of implementation, illustrating the policy to instruct society during its implementation. Secondly, it enlightens the people. Through in-depth research and taking advice from all sectors of society, it can write articles, publish works, make comments and hold symposiums, acting as experts and scholars, thus spreading and popularizing the policy. Thirdly, it narrows differences. In modern society, there are many interest groups with sharply different demands. Think tanks, with their objective and just position, can provide a platform for different interest groups to communicate. Fourth, pooling and recommending talent. In Western countries, think tanks are more like a “revolving door” for talent. Governments often select candidates for senior officials among researchers at think tanks, while some retired government officials continue their study of policies in think tanks, giving play to their expertise and influence. This kind of rotation of roles allows governments to remain close with think tanks and facilitates think tanks` influence on government policies.