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P 131047Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5150
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001971 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
TAGS: ECON PREL EFIN CH
 
SUBJECT: China's new super think tank 
kicks off with global summit 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In response to widespread official 
and media criticism of  Chinese think tanks' failure 
to adequately respond to the global financial crisis, 
China's Premier Wen Jiabao pushed for the creation 
of a new think tank with an impressive roster of 
high-level members. The center made its splashy 
international debut by hosting the Global Think Tank 
Summit in Beijing July 3-4. The China Center for 
International Economic Exchange (CCIEE) is tasked 
with examining the global economic situation and 
providing policy advice to key government decision 
makers. It purports to be independent of any 
particular ministry or enterprise and has stated 
that it will secure most of its own funding so as 
not to be influenced by special interests. However, 
contributions from Chinese state-owned enterprises 
and the fact that CCIEE is populated by powerful 
former and current state leaders have raised doubts 
about its ability to offer truly objective advice. 
End summary. 
 
 
Global Think Tank Summit, July 3-4 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On July 3-4, China's self-proclaimed "super 
think tank" declared itself open for business at a 
Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing. Chinese media 
reported that over 900 people attended to discuss 
the current global economic situation, and the line- 
up attested to its star power. Premier WEN Jiabao 
gave the opening speech at a welcome reception on 
the evening of July 2. Other international 
luminaries in attendance included former President 
of the European Commission Romano Prodi, former U.S. 
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Jose Maria 
Botelho de Vasconcelos, Angola's Minister of 
Petroleum and President of the Organization for 
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and Muhammad 
Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.  IEA Executive 
Director Nobuo Tanaka also spoke at the opening 
event. A large number of high-level Chinese 
officials and business leaders, as well as top 
executives from multinationals working in China, 
were also present at the forum.  Embassy officials 
attended, and the Energy Attache delivered a speech. 
 
¶3. (U) At the forum opening, think tank head and 
former Vice Premier ZENG Peiyan called for 
diversifying reserve currencies and proposed the 
idea of an Asian reserve currency.  He also 
expressed concern over rising protectionism 
worldwide, calling for cooperation to keep markets 
open and promote economic globalization.  In other 
sessions, People's Bank of China Chairman ZHOU 
Xiaochuan advocated for diverting excess savings to 
emerging markets as a way to diversify risk and 
reduce U.S. dollar denominated assets, and Director 
of the National Energy Administration ZHANG Guobao 
blamed speculators for recent oil price fluctuations 
and insisted on stronger regulation.  He also called 
for more cooperation on energy issues as equal 
partners. 
 
 
What - A new super think tank for global economics 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) China's self-proclaimed new "super think 
tank," the China Center for International Economic 
Exchange (CCIEE), was established in March 2009 by 
order of Premier WEN Jiabao. CCIEE integrates two 
existing National Development and Reform Commission 
(NDRC) controlled think tanks - the International 
Cooperation Center and the Open-to-the-Outside 
Consultant Center.  Although officially an NGO 
registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, it 
operates under the guidance and supervision of the 
NDRC. 
 
¶5. (U) The center is tasked with conducting research 
on major economic issues, promoting international 
economic cooperation, providing support for major 
national economic policies and providing high-end 
consulting services for cross-border investments. 
In its first phase, CCIEE announced 19 major 
research topics, including: impact of a possible 
second wave of the financial crisis; a new 
 
BEIJING 00001971  002 OF 003 
 
 
international financial order; U.S.-China strategic 
economic cooperation; Sino-Japanese strategic 
relations; Sino-Russian-Central Asian energy and 
resource cooperation and research; and the functions 
of other countries' think tanks in their respective 
governments' economic decision making processes. 
 
¶6. (U) CCIEE is planning to concentrate heavily on 
international economic issues.  ZHENG Xinli, Vice 
Director General of CCIEE and Deputy Director of the 
Party Central Office of Policy Research, in response 
to a question about what distinguishes the center 
from existing think tanks, told official state 
newspaper People's Daily: "Institutions like the 
Development Research Center (DRC) or the Chinese 
Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) specialize in 
economic theory and China's domestic economy, while 
the focus of CCIEE will be the study of 
international economic strategy and providing proper 
advice to the central government when needed." 
 
¶7. (U) At present, CCIEE conducts weekly academic 
seminars and monthly economic discussions.  CCIEE 
also produces four publications: "Important 
Information," "Study Reports," "Information Report," 
and "Think Tank Opinions".  Some publications are 
delivered to upper level government officials, while 
others are provided as reference materials to member 
institutions or to the State Council and Ministries. 
Each publication currently has two editions per week. 
 
 
Who - CCIEE Leadership 
--------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) CCIEE is chockablock with high-ranking former 
and current state leaders and heavy hitters from the 
corporate and academic fields.  The top three spots 
are occupied by: former Vice Premier ZENG Peiyan, 
CCIEE's Director General; Deputy Director of the 
Party Central Office of Policy Research ZHENG Xinli, 
its Vice Director General; and former Vice Minister 
of Commerce WEI Jianguo, its Secretary General. 
 
The eight Executive Vice Chairmen are: 
 
*WANG Chunzheng, former Director of the Office of 
the Economic and Financial Leading Group of the 
party Central Committee 
*LI Yining, a Peking University professor and 
prominent economist 
*LIU Zunyi, President of the Chinese University of 
Hong Kong 
*ZHANG Xiaoqiang, Vice Chairman of the National 
Development and Reform Commission 
*CHEN Yuan, Chairman of China Development Bank 
*QIAN Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua University School 
of Economics and Management 
*JIANG Jiemin, General Manager of China National 
Petroleum Corporation 
*WEI Liqun, Vice President of China National 
School of Administration and former Director of 
the Research Office of the State Council 
 
The ten Vice Chairs are: 
 
*FENG Guojing, Chairman of International Chamber 
of Commerce 
*LU Ruihua, former Governor of Guangdong Province 
*LIU Huaqiu, former Director of the Foreign 
Affairs Office of the Party Central Committee 
*ZHANG Yutai, President of the Development 
Research Center of the State Council 
*ZHANG Guobao, Vice Chairman of the National 
Development and Reform Commission and Director of 
National Energy Administration 
*LI Rongrong, Director of the State-owned Assets 
Supervision and Administration Commission 
*XU Rongkai, Vice Chairman of the NPC Education, 
Science, Culture and Health Committee of the 
National People's Congress and former Governor of 
Yunnan Province 
*LOU Jiwei, Chairman of the China Investment 
Corporation 
*TENG Wensheng, former Director of the Central 
Policy Research Office 
*DAI Xianglong, Chairman of the National Council 
for Social Security Fund 
 
BEIJING 00001971  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Several executive directors from large state-owned 
entreprises include HUANG Tianwen (Chairman of 
Sinosteel), LI Shaode (President of China Shipping 
Group Company), and WANG Huisheng(President of State 
Development and Investment Corporation). 
 
Why - Incumbent think tanks flunked financial crisis 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Chinese media and Embassy think tank 
contacts reported that CCIEE was created in response 
to existing think tanks' failure to adequately 
respond to the financial crisis.  There are three 
broad categories of economic think tanks in China, 
each with its particular strengths and weaknesses: 
(1) policy-making think thanks affiliated with the 
Party and State Council, which operate at a very 
high level but avoid straying from the Party line; 
(2) think tanks affiliated with particular 
ministries, which dig down in depth on specific 
issues but lack an overarching macro-framework; and 
(3) academic think thanks that are more theoretical 
than practical in their analysis.  The central 
leadership was underwhelmed by the work of all three 
with regard to predicting and responding to the 
global economic crisis. Official media and delegates 
of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese 
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) 
also took existing think-tanks to task, castigating 
them in particular for overestimating GDP growth and 
oil prices, and for being mouthpieces of their 
affiliated ministries or for narrowly representing 
the interests of the multinational companies, 
foreign institutions or private investors who 
provided their funding. 
 
 
How - Funding sources 
--------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Vice Director General ZHENG told the 
People's Daily that the center operates differently 
than government-funded domestic institutions or 
foreign counterparts that are sponsored by private 
capital.  The central government provided CCIEE with 
a small start-up fund of 5 million RMB and the 
center subsequently established a fund raising board 
with the goal of raising another 500 million RMB. 
Apparently more than 20 state-owned enterprises 
(SOEs) have already come forward with support. The 
center is also planning to seek funds from 
privately-owned enterprises and multinational 
companies. CCIEE's leadership insists that the 
diversity of funding sources will guarantee the 
independence of the center. However, local media 
have raised doubts about the contributions of so 
many important SOEs. This coupled with the fact that 
that CCIEE is populated by so many powerful 
officials has led to speculation that the center 
will not be able to retain its independence.