Even with more centralized foreign policymaking in China, Xi and other top leaders still need to turn to experts within the country’s strategic community for advice. While these advisers are more wary of the consequences of dissent than in recent years there is still a varied range of views within this group. This paper uses a common definition of China’s strategic community, which is made up of academics, policy experts, former officials and ex-military personnel who directly advise the Chinese central government or the ruling communist party. Unlike the familiar China hands in the US strategic community, their Chinese equivalents often keep a low profile in international media. Within China’s strategic community, there are three main groups. The first group consists of scholars from some of China’s most prestigious universities and research institutes affiliated with the central government – to name a few, Wang Jisi and Jia Qingguo at Peking University, Da Wei at Tsinghua University and Wu Xinbo from Fudan University. They have all advised Chinese political elites on elements of foreign affairs through various channels or by sitting on the external advisory committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The second group consists of retired senior diplomats that served in G20 countries and international organizations who are actively participating in the decision-making process by providing advice to senior Chinese leaders. Examples include former ambassador Cui Tiankai, who was Beijing’s representative in the US for eight years, and former ambassador Wu Hongbo, who served as undersecretary general of the United Nations.
The third group consists of those who have formerly served in China’s military. Many of these former officers believe that despite intensifying competition with the US, China holds the upper hand as both sides seek ‘a fragile balance’ in the relationship. Retired major general, Professor Jin Yinan – who is not a US specialist but is closely associated with the Central Military Commission and taught at the National Defense University in Beijing – is one of the main advocates of this position.
