China working more closely with foreign think tanks

Foreign think tanks are becoming more actively involved in China's reform and development, analysts said.

"Both the Chinese government and domestic companies have had increasing interaction with foreign think tanks in the past few years, and such communication will become more frequent and in-depth in the future," said Xu Hongcai, director of the Information Department of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

A government or company might contact a foreign think tank because "that think tank has special methods or knowledge or access", said William Overholt, who was director of the RAND Corporation's Center for Asia Pacific Policy from 2002 to 2008. RAND is one of the largest and best regarded think tanks in the US.