Joint Committee of Advanced Think Tanks in the Educational System of Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform for SCO Countries （SCO TEMP）

On May 27， 2023， the Joint Committee of Advanced Think Tanks in the Educational System of the Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform for SCO Countries （hereinafter referred to as the “Joint Committee”） was set up in Chongqing. The Joint Committee is a public interest oriented and open organization initiated voluntarily by think tanks in the educational system of Chongqing. It is jointly supported by the Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform for SCO Countries （SCO TEMP） and the SCO Working Group on Educational Cooperation of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission. The Joint Committee aims to build a communication platform for think tanks to make innovations through collaboration. As a result， it will facilitate the combination of think tank research and applied research across countries， regions， businesses， and industries， thus promoting a new international think tank.

During an exclusive interview with The World and Chongqing， Zhou Zeyang， Inaugural Director of the Joint Committee， Former Counselor of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government and Former President of Chongqing Normal University， noted that “We wish to establish a sophisticated mechanism for collaboration and cooperation between think tanks and governments， counterparts， and industries. Concurrently， we will vigorously promote a new international think tank in Chongqing and explore innovative development patterns encompassing a think tank alliance. The pivotal role of think tanks in the high-quality development of Chongqing’s open economy and cultural exchanges will be given full play to shape Chongqing into a Global Hub for Education and Cultures.”

Interconnectivity： Building a Communication Network for Think Tanks in the Educational System

Zhou Zeyang added， “Educational think tanks provide ideas and wisdom and play diverse roles in education. They significantly influence decision-making and development progress in the domain”. He also mentioned that the Joint Committee was designed to connect， organize， and link diverse think tanks. In the process， it would coordinate and mobilize research resources and share more research forces across countries and regions. The Joint Committee would serve SCO countries， schools and industries.

Zhou Zeyang indicated that the Joint Committee had adopted its policy of interconnectivity since its inception in May. Oriented by industry demands， it created a communication network and a database for think tanks in the education system. With all these endeavors， it had gathered nearly 40 founding members. In the future， the committee will promote the connection between education and the needs of regional economic and social development， linking education chain， talent chain， industry chain， and innovation chain. It will play a fundamental and supportive role of education， science， and talent in building a coordination platform for government， industry， academia， and research and integrating industry and education， and science and education.

Diverse Drivers： Building a New International Think Tank Suitable for Chongqing

Zhou Zeyang believed that in the Think Tank Era， it is necessary to deal with the relationship between regional efforts and cooperation， the relationship between professionalism and comprehensiveness of scientific team building， and the relationship between diversified role-playing and various ways of communication. The Joint Committee would take comprehensive measures to build a new international think tank suitable for Chongqing.

Specifically， connections in three aspects should be enhanced in building a versatile platform to improve Chongqing’s soft power and better serve national strategies， encompassing connections among educational institutions， think tanks， as well as between think tanks in higher educational institutions and industries， companies and government agencies.

Achievements should be then emphasized. The Joint Committee would better coordinate the application and promotion of think tanks’ research results. By regularly organizing the “University-Based Think Tank Forum”， it would bring closer exchanges on research results at home and abroad.

Last but not least， resources should be better mobilized. The Joint Committee would give full play to internal impetus， leverage resources， and facilitate project collaboration and implementation through resource sharing.

Resource Integration： Boosting the High-Quality Development of Chongqing’s Open Economy

How will the Joint Committee find ways to boost the high-quality development of Chongqing’s open economy？ Zhou Zeyang suggested carrying out more field research， recording detailed data and providing industries， companies and educational institutions with well-conceived reports and solutions. At the same time， the Joint Committee should provide local governments with better consulting services， and advise on the introduction of policies in Chongqing. The integration of industry and education should be underlined by directing key sectors， such as automobiles and motorcycles， electronics and new energy， to satisfy the needs of target countries. In addition， digitization should be enhanced. A demand-supply platform should be developed to manage data of education-related industries， companies， and institutions. Think tank experts would be brought in and go global through systematic planning and organized research. More efforts will be made for target countries and special projects.

“At the same time， we should strengthen cultural exchanges and actively promote exchanges between teachers and students in the SCO member states， Belt and Road partner countries， and European and American countries to enhance the people-to-people affinity.” Zhou Zeyang said that the Joint Committee will integrate the resources of all parties in Chongqing， better play the role of think tanks， and help build Chongqing into a Leader of Opening-Up in Inland China and the Center for International Exchanges in Central and Western China.

Photo/SCO TEMP