Challenges and Pathways for Developing Think Tanks in the Civil Aviation Industry of China

Abstract

Against the backdrop of profound transformation and intense competition in the global civil aviation industry, the establishment of industry-specific think tanks with international influence is an urgent imperative for enhancing the core competitiveness of China's civil aviation sector, ensuring industrial security, and serving national strategic objectives. This paper aims to systematically analyze the strategic necessity and current challenges of developing civil aviation think tanks in China. It proposes a comprehensive framework for their construction, offering a practical roadmap to bolster strategic decision-making and international competitiveness as China advances its goal of becoming a global transportation power. Integrating the unique characteristics of China's civil aviation industry, this study conducts an in-depth analysis of the existing bottlenecks in think tank development from four key dimensions: organizational mechanisms, talent systems, research capabilities, and influence-building. The research identifies several core challenges confronting China's civil aviation think tanks, including ambiguous strategic positioning, a homogenous talent structure, insufficient research foresight, and inefficient channels for knowledge translation. To address these issues, a multi-level approach is proposed: strengthening top-level design at the macro level, promoting the integration of industry resources at the meso level, and focusing on a "Four Modernizations" pathway at the micro level—namely, the innovation of organizational mechanisms, the internationalization of talent pools, the strategic orientation of research systems, and the branding of dissemination efforts. Through systematic and long-term investment, civil aviation think tanks can be cultivated into strategic wellsprings of ideas, policy optimization engines, and shapers of international discourse for the nation in the aviation domain.