原题为：Exploiting the public diplomacy function of Chinese think tanks
原载于：中国网 2月15日
The General Office of the State Council issued "The opinions on strengthening building new-type think tanks with Chinese characteristics" on Jan. 20, 2015. The document emphasizes public diplomacy along with policy consultation, theory innovation, public opinion guidance and social services as the five major functions of the new type of think tanks with Chinese characteristics.
It is creative and important to list public diplomacy as the fifth major function of Chinese think tanks. How can this public diplomacy function be implemented? I'd like to offer my opinions based on the exposition in the document and my personal experiences from working for the Charhar Institute, a non-governmental think tank focusing on international relations and diplomacy.
Think tanks affiliated to Party and governmental departments as well as to the army and enterprises, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and non-governmental think tanks, should all play a role in China's public diplomacy. They have covered most fields of Chinese public diplomacy, such as those in politics, academia, military affairs, economics, and education and people-to-people exchanges.
Think tanks which focus on international relations and diplomacy are naturally an important part of public diplomacy. Whether it is intentional or not, their international exchanges and cooperation are public diplomacy. However, other think tanks have to have the intention first to achieve their public diplomacy goals through international communications.
Think tanks are the research and communication institutes of public policy, which involve studies of politics, diplomacy, economy, technology, society, culture and ecology. Therefore, Chinese think tanks should see foreign think tanks as the target audience in public diplomacy and attach importance to exchanges and cooperation with their overseas counterparts, especially those with the same or related research fields.
In recent years, the Charhar Institute has had exchange programs and cooperation with the Center on Public Diplomacy of University of South California, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations and other foreign think tanks. These public diplomacy practices are fruitful and rewarding.
Public diplomacy, based on the mutual understanding from the public, aims to spread a country's public policy and understand that of another country. Research by think tanks influences government policy planning. Therefore, Chinese think tanks should communicate with foreign counterparts on their research findings and experiences as the first priority, and on Chinese foreign policies and cultural value as the second.
Moreover, the development and experience of a think tank is a microcosm of its country's political development. Therefore, properly presenting its experience will not only improve the think tank's image, but also let people of other countries know about its part in progress and its country's political development.
There are five methods of public diplomacy by think tanks. First is to translate Chinese think tanks' research findings into foreign languages and choose proper foreign language media to publish them. At present, Chinese think tanks are short of good translators and good foreign language writers. They also need experience in choosing the right and influential media in international communication.
Second is the communication between scholars, including work exchange, introducing foreign scholars and sinologist as well as Chinese scholars visiting foreign think tanks and participating in international think tank events.
Third is scholars from Chinese think tanks who work for the United Nations and other international organizations. Whether they are governmental or non-governmental, international organizations are the important institutions of global governance and platforms for public diplomacy. Working there, Chinese scholars can make China's voice more widely heard and communicate its proposals and plans. If Chinese scholars are in senior positions, they will have more power of discourse and influence.
Fourth is establishing an exchange mechanism with foreign think tanks by jointly holding international conferences and conducting international research programs. The Charhar Institute has established cooperation mechanisms with many foreign think tanks. For example, it has held the International Forum on Public Diplomacy with the Clingendael, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, and the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations of Germany since 2012. In the past three years, the forum has been held in Beijing, Hague and Shanghai with topics covering culture, understanding and city diplomacy. This year's forum will be held in Berlin with the theme of "international public products and public diplomacy."
Fifth is to set up overseas branch offices to further conduct public diplomacy in host countries. This is the highest form of international communication and public diplomacy by think tanks. For example, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has jointly established the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy with China's Tsinghua University.
At present, this method can only be adopted by a few top think tanks which have a large amount of resources and great international influence. The other four methods are fit for most of the think tanks, especially Chinese think tanks.
The author is secretary-general and senior fellow of the Charhar Institute.
The article was written in Chinese and translated by Li Shen.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.