Embracing Scientific Decision Making: The Rise of Think-Tank Policies in China

• Published in: Pacific affairs 2018-03, Vol.91 (1), p.49-71
• Main Authors: Xue, Lan, Zhu, Xufeng, Han, Wanqu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Discourse; China; Fragmented Decision-Making System; Methods; Ntttcc; Political activity; Public administration; Think Tanks
• ISSN: 0030-851X; 1715-3379; 0030-851X
• DOI: 10.5509/201891149

The literature has traditionally regarded the rise and fall of Chinese think tanks as a product of the relaxation or tightening of control over the ideological domain by the Communist Party of China (CPC). However, since 2013, think tanks in China have continued to prosper in spite of the general perception that the ideological domain became more restricted. This article explains the reasons for, and consequences of, the rise of key think-tank policies and the construction of "New-Type Think Tanks with Chinese Characteristics" (NTTTCC). We argue that the success of Chinese think tanks has been driven primarily by greater official recognition of their value, due to increasingly complex domestic and international problems stemming from a fragmented decision-making system. We further argue that the rise of think-tank policies in China can be attributed to a long history of interactions among multiple internal and external actors, which in turn, opened the "window of opportunity" for a new policy agenda. Consequently, by late 2015, the new policies led to the selection of twenty-five "pilot high-end think tanks" and the establishment of the management system of think tanks in China.