Top Beijing think tank The Counsellor’s Office reveals the secrets of the Chinese Communist Party’s policymaking
- The Counsellors’ Office, a body set up to advise the government in 1949, has opened its door to the world for the first time in decades
- Membership of the think tank is not confined to party members and reports to government provide dissenting viewpoints
Beijing has offered a rare glimpse into the operation of a government think tank that has played an influential role in shaping policies for decades.
The Counsellors’ Office, based in the former Dutch embassy, recently held its first “open door” session for the media and foreign envoys.
The office was set up in the Zhongnanhai compound in the heart of Beijing in 1949 with the support of Mao Zedong and premier Zhou Enlai, with the aim of establishing an official channel to garner expert views from non-party members.
This tradition continues and today more than two thirds of its 50 staff are non-party members. These staff members can continue working until they reach the age of 70 – five years later than the normal retirement date for party members.
We have had very heated debates. These discussions were allowed
“The counsellors have become a unique channel to offer opinions [to the leadership] to enable them to make decisions on governance issues in a more democratic and scientific manner,” said Wang Zhongwei, the office’s director, who was deputy secretary general of the State Council before he took the helm of the office in 2015.