China’s knowledge strategy: 100 new think tanks, one school of thought

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Acknowledgment

This article was inspired by David Walker’s use of the term ‘knowledge strategy’ in PMM Live! 2016. I thank X. Zhu for introducing me to the relevant academic literature. I am solely responsible for the views expressed herein.

Notes

* Jacques (2009) advances the notion of China as ‘the only civilization-state’, for which Zhang (2012, pp. 51–71) identifies four ‘super’ features in terms of large population, vast territory, long tradition and rich culture; as well as four ‘unique’ features: language, politics, society and economy.

* Here, ‘de-Westernization’ refers to the process of eliminating the influence of certain Western values inimical to the Chinese party-state, such as multiparty competition in popular elections, freedom of thought and speech, and an independent press. Putting this policy in action, the Chinese minister of education has demanded universities to keep these and other politically incorrect ideas from classrooms and textbooks (Anderlini, 2015). The CCP’s disciplinary commission recently commanded the China Academy of Social Sciences—and by extension other research institutes—to revert back to Marxism (CCDI, 2016), which ironically the CCP itself had imported from the West to save China. It appears that, while questioning the universality of Western values, the Chinese authorities realize that a comprehensive ban would be irrational and dysfunctional. Instead, the government is seeking to limit the Chinese people’s exposure to ‘viruses’ that could undermine its legitimacy. Such a yuming (keeping the people ignorant) domestic measure stands in sharp contrast to the launching of an overseas publicity and cultural offensive, including nearly 500 Confucius Institutes on six continents, to better inform the world about China. However, these educational and cultural institutes, intended to project China’s soft power, are sometimes perceived as a cultural threat (Zhou and Luck, 2016). If ‘de-Sinofication’ ensured, it would, along with de-Westernization, be another reminder that, since knowledge is power, its production and dissemination is too important to be left to scholars.

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Notes on contributors

James L. Chan

James L. Chan is Professor Emeritus of Accounting, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA