Independence of mind to support policymaking

The deepening of reforms, the main task for the new government led by Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang starting last year, is a turning point for Chinese think tanks. Those that produce only low-quality research will see their influence wane. The reforms, which require cutting red tape, are an "internal revolution" of the government. The authorities need to draw on wisdom from more independent sources beyond the CPC and the government.

"State leaders need more practical solutions arrived at through a scientific consensus," Wang Zhan, director of SASS, said at the seminar.

The Party vowed to promote the growth of new types of think tanks late last year. Since then, State leaders have indicated an urgent need for more pragmatic, farsighted reports whose findings haven't been influenced by special interests.

The seminar provided an opportunity for representatives from all major Chinese think tanks to get ideas from their foreign counterparts on how to maintain independence, which, as the Western thinkers believe, comes from financial and ideological independence.

Some of the Chinese policy analysts, however, have a different concept of independence. "Taking money from the government may not necessarily influence the independence of think tanks," said Song Xiaowu, councilor for the Beijing-based China Society of Economic Reform.

Nie Yongyou, vice-director of the School of Economics at Shanghai University, said: "I do not think Chinese think tanks should copy the Western model, as long as we always focus on the public interest and provide decision input for the government, public agencies and economic organizations."

According to Wei Jian'guo, vice-director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, which is under the nation's chief economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, financial independence and independence of thought is vital for the quality of think tanks' research. Lack of independence weakens Chinese think tanks' ability to make strategic forecasts.

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