Source: China.org.cn    Published: 2017-1-12

Guo Yezhou, vice minister of the IDCPC, speaks at the inauguration ceremony of the China Council for the BRICS Think Tank Cooperation (CCBTC) in Beijing on Jan. 11, 2017. [Photo by Chen Boyuan/China.org.cn]

Cooperation between think tanks in the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is to play a growing role in facilitating the bloc`s global governance efforts, agreed representatives attending the establishment of the China Council for the BRICS Think Tank Cooperation (CCBTC) in Beijing on Jan. 11.

The CCBTC was inaugurated following the initiative of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC) amid China`s presidency of the BRICS this year.

The IDCPC managed to round up 63 think tanks across the country to become members of the council, which will be headed by Guo Yezhou, vice minister of the IDCPC. Liu Wei, president of the Renmin University of China and Liu Yong, chief economist of China Development Bank, are among the vice chairmen on the council.

Chairman Guo Yezhou (L5) and vice chairmen of the CCBTC pose for photos at the agency`s establishment in Beijing on Jan. 11, 2017. [Photo by Chen Boyuan/China.org.cn]

At the inauguration, Guo said that the CCBTC marked a new starting point for research of the BRICS nations and cooperation between think tanks from the five countries. He said that facilitating communications on each other`s policies, promoting ideological innovations, effectively guiding public opinions and deepening friendships within the bloc are missions for think tanks.

"Think tanks as academic bodies are more likely to spot risks and problems in times of tranquility and are more likely to seek solutions in times of difficulty," said Guo, pledging full support by the CCBTC to the BRICS` Year of China.

Think tank cooperation among BRICS nations began in 2008 and was more formalized in 2013 when BRICS Think Tanks Council (BTTC) was set up at the BRICS fifth Academic Forum meeting in Durban, South Africa.