The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Woman killed in stopped car struck by bus on highway

  • 3

    Koreans wish to work less than 40 hours per week: survey

  • 5

    Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit

  • 7

    Video footage highlights details of stepmother's fatal abuse of 12-year-old

  • 9

    Actor Yoo Ah-in to appear for questioning Friday over alleged drug use

  • 11

    INTERVIEWNorth Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers

  • 13

    New EU trade policies unnerve Korean firms

  • 15

    North Korea fires ballistic missile as US bombers join drills

  • 17

    Whisky sales at E-Mart outlets exceed soju sales in Jan.-Feb. period

  • 19

    Could Doosan Robotics be valued at 1 trillion won in IPO?

  • 2

    Korea sets record of half million economically inactive youth

  • 4

    Mask mandate on public transportation to end Monday

  • 6

    Apple Pay's imminent launch in Korea draws mixed responses

  • 8

    Centre Pompidou's Korean branch to open in 63 Building

  • 10

    Commuters still wear masks despite end of mask mandate on public transportation

  • 12

    KAIST student becomes first Korean recipient of Apple Scholars fellowship

  • 14

    ANALYSISYoon-Kishida summit may 'raise ceiling' for trilateral cooperation with US: expert

  • 16

    Land minister fortifies city building cooperation with Indonesia

  • 18

    UBS eyeing swoop for Credit Suisse, sources say, amid fears of banking contagion

  • 20

    Trump expects to be arrested Tuesday as DA eyes charges

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Tue, March 21, 2023 | 20:58
Lee Seong-hyon
China's think tanks
Posted : 2020-07-21 17:33
Updated : 2020-07-21 17:33
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link

By Lee Seong-hyon

In May, Hong Kong's venerable South China Morning Post ran an exclusive story. It said, "An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into confrontation." The internal Chinese report was crafted by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security (MSS), China's top intelligence body. CICIR was mentioned in a previous column, "Plan on NK contingency?" (May 12). Since then, some curiosity was raised regarding CICIR and Chinese think tanks in general.

CICIR was founded in 1980 as the Institute for Modern and International Relations. It was renamed to its current one in 2003. It is a research institute on international strategy and security issues covering nearly all regions of the world, including the United States, Europe, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. There are about 400 researchers (the website lists 300). By the nature of the agency, it plays an important role as a policy decision-making advisory body.

China's various policy reports go up to the General Office of CPC Central Committee (zhongyang bangongting, abbreviated as "zhongban"). The name CPC stands for Communist Party of China. Zhongban is equivalent to the Office of the President in Korea. The policy report is carefully vetted by officials at zhongban and eventually gets placed on the desk of China's top leader for reading.

It's not easy for a researcher's idea notes to reach zhongban. There is a cutthroat competition among China's think tank scholars and university academics. CICIR is known to have its separate independent channel to reach China's top leadership. One view is that CICIR is under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group (FALSG), whose head is Xi Jinping, China's top leader.

This may be confusing to some. On the one hand, CICIR is under the jurisdiction of MSS, a ministerial body belonging to the State Council, China's cabinet. But then, CICIR is also under the jurisdiction of FALSG, belonging to the CPC. In China, however, such "dual jurisdiction" is not exceptional. As Xi said, "the Party leads everything" in China. One belongs to some organization in China. But then, the organization (in fact "all organizations") belongs to the Communist Party. This means that the Party has a higher authority over the state.

The current president of CICIR is Yuan Peng. Both intelligent and a straight shooter, he was a visiting scholar to the Atlantic Council and the Brookings Institution. Previously, he was director of the Institute of American Studies at CICIR. The head of the Korean Peninsula Research Center of CICIR was Li Jun, a fluent Korean speaker. Li has recently moved to the Central Party School (zhongyang dangxiao). One important function of the Central Party School is to groom promising mid-career CPC officials. In that sense, it is similar to Harvard Kennedy School.

Unlike the U.S., there is generally no "revolving door" between think tanks and public offices in China. The two are separate career tracks and usually there is no migration between them. In recent years, however, some retired Chinese officials took positions at think tanks. But then, still, it is not as common as in the U.S. In particular, it is rare for academics and think tank scholars to assume government positions. The case of Wang Huning, for that matter, is often cited as a rare case. He was a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. Wang advised the city's mayor, whose name was Jiang Zemin. When Jiang became China's top leader, he recruited Wang. Now, Wang is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, which is China's top decision-making body.

In 2006, China's first ever think tank forum was held in Beijing. The forum announced the top 10 most influential Chinese think tanks, including CICIR. Other think tanks on the list are the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Development Research Center of the State Council, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academy of Military Science (the premier think tank for China's People's Liberation Army), China Institute of International Studies (under the foreign ministry), China Association for Science and Technology, China Institute for International Strategic Studies (it organizes the Xiangshan Forum), and Shanghai Institute of International Studies (SIIS). Most of these think tanks are quasi-official organizations, subordinate to different government departments, and have played an important role in the government's decision-making process.


Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute.


 
LG Group
Top 10 Stories
1Woman killed in stopped car struck by bus on highway Woman killed in stopped car struck by bus on highway
2Korea sets record of half million economically inactive youth Korea sets record of half million economically inactive youth
3Commuters still wear masks despite end of mask mandate on public transportation Commuters still wear masks despite end of mask mandate on public transportation
4[INTERVIEW] North Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers INTERVIEWNorth Korean-born chef delights Southerners' taste buds, breaks down cultural barriers
5KAIST student becomes first Korean recipient of Apple Scholars fellowship KAIST student becomes first Korean recipient of Apple Scholars fellowship
6COVID-hit Myeong-dong bounces back as tourists return COVID-hit Myeong-dong bounces back as tourists return
7Public officials reluctant to dine with coworkers Public officials reluctant to dine with coworkers
8Brides in early 40s outnumber those in early 20s Brides in early 40s outnumber those in early 20s
9OTT service providers negatively impacted by illegal streaming website OTT service providers negatively impacted by illegal streaming website
10[ANALYSIS] Yoon-Kishida meeting raises expectations of 3-way summit with China ANALYSISYoon-Kishida meeting raises expectations of 3-way summit with China
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Centre Pompidou's Korean branch to open in 63 Building Centre Pompidou's Korean branch to open in 63 Building
2Celebrities head back abroad to film K-food reality shows Celebrities head back abroad to film K-food reality shows
3Park Sung-woong talks about filming 'Woong Nam' with comedian-turned-director Park Sung-woong talks about filming 'Woong Nam' with comedian-turned-director
4Lee Se-young to lead MBC's new series 'The Story of Park's Marriage Contract' Lee Se-young to lead MBC's new series 'The Story of Park's Marriage Contract'
5From sky to deserted islands, two artists' documentation of nature adds surreal touch to reality From sky to deserted islands, two artists' documentation of nature adds surreal touch to reality
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group