A proposal to speed up the establishment of new think tanks with Chinese characteristics and fine tune decision-making processes put forward at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has injected new momentum into the development of domestic think tanks. Wang Xiaohong, deputy chief editor of the journal Globalization of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said think tanks are bound to play an increasingly important role in promoting soft power. Wang pointed out that to give full play to the advantage of intelligence-intensive think tanks and provide high-quality intellectual support for scientific decisions made by the CPC Central Committee, barriers should be lifted between departments as well as disciplines. It is also important to extensively integrate academic resources and establish a platform for think-tank cooperation and exchange involving journals, Wang noted.

Wang said that think-tank journals, which differ from news and academic publications, should be not only professional, theoretical and research-oriented, but also engage with readers beyond the realm of academia. Readers should include people in government, commerce, consulting, research and education. Wang added that think-tank journals should focus on serving national economic construction and macro decision-making for the CPC Central Committee, as well as promoting the scientific and democratic values of the Party and government.

The Chinese link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/jryw/2014-04-02/content_11515821.html

Translated by Yu Hui

Revised by Tom Fearon