Think tanks face hurdle in answering Xi Jinping's call

In calling for a new type of Chinese think tank, President Xi Jinping wants institutions that can compete with American ones in spreading soft power abroad and help refine policies at home, analysts say.

But the leadership at the same time is demanding greater political fidelity from researchers. Ideas, even ones that are effective solutions to national problems, might be abandoned if they conflict with ideology, some experts say.

Last Monday, Xi told the Communist Party's leading group on overall reform that building a "new type of think tank with Chinese characteristics is an important and pressing mission".

China has the most think tanks after the United States, according to a recent report by the University of Pennsylvania. But compared to their Western counterparts like the Rand Corporation or Brookings Institution, domestic institutions have little global influence. Only six ranked among the top 100 worldwide in the report, with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) highest placed at 20th.

Xi's call was "unprecedented", said Wang Jun , a senior follow at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, an influential thank tank headed by former vice-premier Zeng Peiyan .

"It is an effort to promote China's communication with foreign nations and enhance its soft power in a rapidly changing international environment," Wang said.

Few existing think tanks could boast the sort of international influence enjoyed by leading institutions in the United States, he said. "Xi wants China's think tanks to play the same role their US counterparts have been doing," he said.