ABSTRACT
The Chinese translation of think tank is 'Si Xiang Ku' or 'Zhi Ku'. A think tank, which literally means a tank to collect intelligent persons or thoughts, is a specialized institute formed by scholars or thinkers aiming to participate in public policies. It is a product of modern society and symbolizes the professional and scientific trend in the development of political decision-making. The chapter explores that the think tanks can be divided into various types. First, according to the nature of the sponsors, they can be divided into government-sponsored and non-government-sponsored think tanks. Second, according to the nature of the product they produce, they may be divided into general think tanks and specialized think tanks. Third, think tanks can assume various forms, including institutes, forums, foundations, societies, centres, corporations. It is still very difficult to accurately describe Chinese non-governmental think tanks because they remain largely unnoticed by society, resulting in a lack of research or statistic data.
