Think tanks put heads together at Shanghai forum

Think tanks around the world are facing common challenges and need cross-border communication and cooperation to keep their development sustainable, participants said during the 2019 Shanghai Global Think Tank Forum, which opened in Shanghai on Thursday.

“Together, we should address challenges in areas like obtaining funding and adjusting to technological changes,” said Gheorghe Zamman, corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and director of the Institute of National Economy of the Romanian Academy.

“These problems are not unique to think tanks in only one country but need joint efforts of think tanks around the world,” Zamman said.

At the forum, Michael Swaine, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, shared Carnegie’s experience of seeking more influence, while Sean Randolph, senior director of Bay Area Council Economic Institute, encouraged global think tanks to get further engaged in innovative construction of world cities.

China is now home to hundreds of think tanks at different levels. According to a report by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences earlier this year, the Development Research Center of the State Council was rated as the most influential think tank on the Chinese mainland, followed by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The forum, hosted by the SASS in partnership with institutions including Silk Road Think Tank Association, Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research and Fudan University, was attended by nearly 200 experts from more than 70 countries and regions.

The 2018 Global Think Tanks Development Report, produced by the SASS, was released at the forum.