By Ma Jiantang, DRC

2018-11-13

At present, viewing from the strategic perspective of promoting scientific and democratic decision-making, modernizing the national governance system and capacity, and enhancing China’s soft power, it has become a major and urgent task for us to build a new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics, especially a batch of national high-end think tanks. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, President Xi Jinping has made a series of important instructions on the building of a new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics and the establishment and improvement of the decision-making consultation system, His remarks have made clear the roadmaps, overall structure and basic principles for the construction of think tanks in China. The building of national high-end think tanks must be guided by Xi Jinping’s Thought of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, stick to the correct political orientation, serve the overall interests of government work, conduct in-depth research projects, innovate institutional mechanisms, and stimulate the vitality of talented personnel so as to provide important support for the Party and government to make scientific and democratic decisions in accordance with the law.

I.The new era calls for further development of national high-end think tanks.

China has entered a decisive stage for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects in face of unprecedented, complex and hard issues to be addressed both at home and abroad including ways for advancing development in the course of reform. This requires that China’s think tanks, especially national high-end think tanks, should actively follow and respond to the major issues of development and reform in the new era, take strategic issues and public policies as the main research program, serve the Party and government to make scientific and democratic decisions in accordance with the law, and shoulder the responsibilities and missions entrusted by the new era. First, think tanks need to provide intellectual support for the modernization of national governance. In the modern sense, think tanks are cultivated on the basis of refined social division of labor and scientific and democratic decisions. Second, think tanks need to provide policy options through consultations to promote high-quality development. It requires national high-end think tanks to follow the law of high-quality economic development in the new era, propose overall and strategic countermeasures and suggestions, and contribute to the sustained and sound social and economic development. Third, think tanks need to pool wisdom to cope with drastic and unprecedented changes. National high-end think tanks should give free rein to enhancing international exchanges and cooperation, serve as consultants and assistants to the Party and government in policy making and institutional coordination, play the role as a bridge between the government and the public in interpreting the Party’s policies and enhance international consensus on major issues with adequate measures so as to create a broader and more favorable environment for China’s development.

II.We need to define the mission and orientation of building national high-end think tanks.

As mentioned above, President Xi Jinping has, since the 18th CPC National Congress, made a series of important instructions on building a new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics. Those instructions serve as the fundamental guideline to advance the building of national high-end think tanks in the new era. First, his remarks give a clear illustration of the mission of think tanks. President Xi Jinping points out that the building of a new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics should be taken as a major and urgent task with regard to promoting scientific and democratic decision-making, modernizing China’s governance system and capacity, and strengthening China’s soft power. Second, his remarks give an elaboration of the orientation for think tanks’ future development. President Xi Jinping puts forward specific requirements on the direction and roadmaps of building a new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics. Think tanks should be put under the leadership of the Party, hold on to the correct guideline, fully reflect Chinese characteristics in their research work, adhere to the scientific spirit, encourage massive explorations, keep the big picture in mind in rendering service to the government and persist in reform and innovation in a regulated manner. Third, his remarks set forth the layout for think tanks development. President Xi Jinping notes that we need to push forward the coordinated development of the Party and government departments, institutes of social sciences, Party and government training schools, universities and colleges, military departments, enterprises and social think tanks, so as to form a new think-tank system with Chinese characteristics featuring clear positioning, distinctive characteristics, appropriate scale and reasonable layout, and focus on building a number of international influential high-end think tanks. Fourth, his remarks lay stress on making innovations. President Xi Jinping holds that the construction of think tanks should focus on enhancing the research quality and promoting the innovation of research work and research findings.

III.We will continue to make new progress in building national high-end think tanks.

In recent years, the number of think tanks in China has been increasing. However, some problems remain to be addressed. For instance, some think tanks cannot keep up with and adapt to the requirements of the new era. Some think tanks focus on the research quantity rather than quality, while some others have their eyes only on forms while neglecting the innovation of research results. In general, the capacity of strategic planning and comprehensive research is still inadequate, and the research quality and level need to be improved. These problems have restricted think tanks’ performance to serve the Party and government in scientific, democratic and law-based decision-making. In a bid to modernize national governance system, we need to continue to raise the quality and level of think tanks’ building through reform and innovation. National high-end think tanks should play their leading and exemplary role and shoulder greater responsibilities and missions. First, we need to stick to the correct political orientation. High-end think tanks must firmly adhere to the Party’s leadership in their work and follow the Party’s governance. Second, we need to serve the overall interests of the country. China’s high-end think tanks should closely focus on the strategic plan for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and continue to carry out forward-looking and targeted studies on important issues such as China’s development path, growth models, development strategy and relationship with major world powers as well as global governance in the new era. Third, we need to conduct in-depth studies and research. National high-end think tanks should promote the spirit of making field researches. They should not only summarize experience in areas where the situation is favorable and advanced, but also look for weak spots at the grass-roots level, in remote and poor areas, and in areas where risks and contradictions are concentrated, so as to solve practical problems. Fourth, we need to innovate institutional mechanisms. We will deepen reform of the research and funding system, strengthen the coordination with policy-making departments, improve ways and mechanisms in which think tanks participate in project consultations, demonstration of plans, policy interpretation, guidance of public opinion, and evaluation of results, and make a sound interaction with policy-making departments. Fifth, we need to stimulate the vitality of talented personnel. We need to make mid-to-long term plans with open mind and strategic view to cultivate talented personnel for think tanks, so as to pool high-caliber personnel in high-end think tanks.