A top level think tank, established last month following the instructions of Premier Wen Jiabao, is expected to provide suggestions for the country's top leaders and is regarded as a pioneer for think tanks to transform in China.
Former Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan serves as the director of China Centre for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), now the highest level think tank established in China.
According to Jiang, experts from think tanks affiliated to government agencies have to make sure their comments are in line with the interests of that department.
Some think tanks have even become the mouthpieces of businessmen. Jiang said that a few mine owners from Shanxi province funded some think tanks and asked those experts to make comments that promoted the interests of mine owners.
Liu believes semi-official think tanks are what China needs now after he visited seven famous think tanks overseas, including Research and Development (RAND) and the Brookings Institution.
clipped from: www.chinadaily.com.cn