Bureau Chiefs and Policy Experts in the Chinese Policy Decision-making Process: Making Guanxi More Influential

Research on political resources in policy networks has become a promising new topic in China studies. This paper attempts to identify the most important members of personal networks (guanxi) established by policy experts who achieve and maintain influence over China's policy-making system. It is argued that guanxi with officials at the bureau level is the most important network resource for ＂think tank＂ policy experts seeking to exert influence over policy-making in contemporary China. This empirical study is based on data collected from a 2004 survey of China's policy experts involving 301 Chinese think tank leaders from 25 provinces.