ABSTRACT

The policy-making process of Chinese foreign policy has primarily involved three governing actors: the Party, the government and the military. Instead of examining these institutional actors, this chapter will focus on the role of policy communities and their impact on the making of Chinese foreign policy. Peter Haas and his associates published a group of articles in 1992 in International Organization on ‘knowledge, power, and international policy co-ordination’. Haas specifically raised the concept of an ‘epistemic community’, referring to a ‘network of professionals with recognized expertise and competence in a particular domain and an authoritative claim to policy-relevant knowledge within that domain or issue-area’ (Haas 1992). These professional networks, also known as policy communities, become influential because of the nature and complexity of the issues involved. Think tanks are an important part of these policy communities. As in Western societies, policy communities and think tanks in China have exerted increasing influences on the direction of foreign policy, although there are noticeable limitations (Brookings Panel 2008).