Think tanks with Chinese characteristics are strategic instruments that integrate academic research with the guidance of the ruling Communist Party of China. They play a pivotal role in promoting major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of President “Xi Jinping.” These centers promote China’s global initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and initiatives focused on global security, development, governance, and civilization. They exert global influence by shaping Chinese narratives, promoting China’s policies and perspectives worldwide, building informal alliances, and marketing the Chinese development model to ensure a favorable international environment.
Think tanks with Chinese characteristics are strategic tools that integrate academic research with the guidance of the ruling Communist Party of China. They play a pivotal role in promoting China’s major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of President “Xi Jinping.” Chinese think tanks also play a pivotal role in shaping “Track II diplomacy.” Through providing strategic advice to Chinese decision-makers, think tanks, such as the “China Institute of Contemporary International Relations,” act as advisors to the Communist Party, integrating academic research with China’s foreign policy. This aligns with their adoption of Belt and Road diplomacy: Chinese think tanks promote the Belt and Road Initiative as a comprehensive cooperation platform, contributing to the building of international alliances based on shared development values that support China’s development model. With its ability to shape the Chinese narrative by crafting China’s external narratives, such as promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, improving China’s global image, and striving to offer a Chinese interpretation of global issues, such as climate change and security; moving beyond the narrow and limited perspective of the West and the United States; and enhancing China’s position as a global moral force, and its ability to reduce tensions between China and the world by contributing to the management of informal relations with other countries and avoiding direct conflicts through informal dialogues.
Chinese think tanks also aim, through Track II diplomacy, to influence international intellectual and political elites to promote China’s vision and President Xi Jinping’s principle of “a community with a shared future for mankind.” The most prominent role of Chinese think tanks in Track II diplomacy lies in supporting major-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Here, these centers, such as the “China Institute of Contemporary International Relations” (CICIR), act as research arms that translate “major-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics” into practical policy proposals. In addition to their role in shaping China’s external narrative globally, think tanks contribute to defending Chinese policies and refuting Western criticisms, particularly regarding the Chinese development model, thus providing intellectual cover for diplomatic discussions. They also possess the capacity to conduct informal dialogues, engaging with their international counterparts to build trust, explore cooperation opportunities, and ease political tensions outside of official protocols.
Chinese think tanks play a significant role in supporting major-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics by adopting and disseminating “Xi Jinping Thought” globally, which supports President Xi’s vision of major-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics as a core component of his policy, and promoting the Chinese perspective on conflict avoidance by advocating strategies that avoid direct international conflicts, focusing on foreign relations that serve economic growth, modernization, and development. And (Defending Socialist Democracy with Chinese Characteristics): Chinese think tanks advocate for the Chinese model (“Socialist Democracy with Chinese Characteristics”) and assert the unsuitability of liberal democracy for China’s unique circumstances.
The most significant areas of global influence for Chinese think tanks include Africa and the developing Global South. They are used to shape policies that influence developing countries, promote the Chinese development model as an alternative to the West, and promote the Belt and Road Initiative through feasibility studies and think tanks that present China as a viable development partner. Their role in building the values and model of Chinese concepts and initiatives: Chinese think tanks promote Chinese concepts such as “a community with a shared future for mankind,” emphasizing ethical and value-based leadership over military leadership. Besides its role in transferring the Chinese model: Through intellectual influence, they market China’s economic and administrative successes as a model for developing countries. With regard to influencing intellectual elites, these centers host researchers and policymakers from abroad to shape their positive attitudes toward China through academic and political dialogue and organize informal seminars and conferences that bring together international researchers and officials. This facilitates penetration of intellectual and political circles to understand, promote, and disseminate the Chinese perspective globally and within all academic and relevant circles. These centers are characterized by their “Chinese characteristics,” meaning they operate under the supervision of the Chinese Communist Party, which limits internal critical debate and focuses on supporting official positions within a seemingly rigorous research framework.
By 2026, Chinese think tanks will play a pivotal role as strategic “brain reservoirs” supporting political and economic decision-making, serving as a key instrument of Chinese public diplomacy to enhance the country’s soft power. The most important strategic roles of Chinese think tanks and research centers are highlighted through: (National Policy Formulation): These centers act as channels for intelligence gathering and big data analysis using artificial intelligence to predict future trends, thus enhancing the government’s ability to make accurate decisions. They also have the capacity to develop a “new type of think tank”: Here, China is adopting a national strategy to build “think tanks with Chinese characteristics,” aimed at aligning research with the program of the Communist Party of China, making them an integral part of the modern governance system. Chinese think tanks also feature what is known as “Track II Diplomacy,” where the think tank and its centers organize informal dialogues with foreign experts and officials to convey official messages and gauge reactions to new policies before their official announcement.
Regarding the most prominent areas of influence for Chinese think tanks in 2026, their efforts are currently focused on several vital issues, such as contributing to the formulation and preparation of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan “2026-2030”: Here, research institutions contribute extensively to setting the economic and social goals of this transitional plan. Chinese think tanks also focus on (supporting the “Global South”): They concentrate on studying joint development models with developing countries, evaluating Belt and Road Initiative projects, and strengthening cooperation in the areas of food security and health. Furthermore, they play an advisory role in (technological transformation): Science and technology think tanks provide consultative support in the race for supercomputing and the application of artificial intelligence in industry.
As for the most prominent classifications of think tanks in China, these institutions fall into three main levels, which are: (governmental and party centers): Such as the “Development Research Center of the State Council,” which has direct access to decision-makers. Alongside them are academic centers, affiliated with major universities, such as Beijing Foreign Studies University, which focuses on regional studies and public diplomacy. And (military think tanks): These are affiliated with the (People’s Liberation Army) “PLA” and specialize in strategic and security studies.
In this context, reports issued in February 2026 confirm that these Chinese think tanks and research centers are gradually moving away from reliance on Western models and focusing instead on formulating “Chinese solutions” to global problems, thus strengthening Beijing’s role as a creator of strategic alternatives in the international system.
