As an important component of the nation’s softpower, the Chinese think tank is striving to learn from the Western “think tank” model to increase China’s ability to deal with various challenges. One example is the formation of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) in March and its 2009 Global Think Tank Summit in July.
Composed of mostly active and retired high ranking officials, CCIEE is trying to build its own funding sources so as to maintain independence.
The statistics show China has 2,500 research institutes that have policy study as their core research topic, out of which, 2,000 provide services to the government directly or indirectly. Most of the think tanks are owned by the government with a small number belonging to universities or independent entities.
Source: Xinhua, September 20, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-09/20/content_12084960.htm