The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) is a Chinese think tank based in Beijing. It is registered as a non-governmental organization, though its independence from the Chinese Communist Party has been disputed.[1][2][3] It also occasionally suffered attacks and censorship within China.[4][5]
As a counselor to the State Council, CCG's Wang Huiyao and Mabel Lu Miao have advocated for easing the residency requirements for foreign citizens in China.[13][14][15] In 2020, the Ministry of Justice published a draft legislation outlining new paths to permanent residence, sparking controversy among Chinese nationalists who opposed the move. Wang was vilified by nationalists for supporting the permanent residency scheme.[4]
In 2021, CCG hosted an event critical of China's external propaganda as "mirroring internal propaganda in external propaganda."[16][1] Chinese scholars at a CCG event "were stark about the country's global image."[17] As a result, CCG and the scholars were targeted and media posts related to the event began to disappear.[5]
Wang Huiyao, president of CCG, was previously a vice chairman of the Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA). He has been a standing director of the China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA).[2] Both WRSA and COFA are under the jurisdiction of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), where Wang was once on the advisory board.[3] In a 2015 press release, CCG stated that it was "initiated by the China Global Talents Committee and the WRSA's Suggestions Committee."[19]
CCG has argued that it is financed primarily by private and corporate donors without government funding,[20] and that Wang's involvement with the WRSA was merely an advisory role on its council, not formal employment.[21] In 2023, CCG denied being "founded, run, or financed" by the WRSA, explaining that to navigate the stringent legal requirements for private think tanks, the organization had
incorrectly said WRSA was one initiator of CCG. In trying to survive, exist, and develop, CCG staff took advantage of what was plausibly available in an imperfect development environment and felt then it was preferable to mention what could be its most plausible link to an organization with over 100 years of history—longer than the CPC or PRC.[21]
In March 2023, U.S. news startup Semafor launched its "China and Global Business" initiative in partnership with CCG and the Chinese foreign ministry-affiliated China Public Diplomacy Association. Justin B. Smith, CEO of Semafor, wrote that the company was not "under the illusion that Chinese business leaders or other local groups operate independently of the Chinese Communist Party." Due to Chinese legal requirements, however, CCG "will take on local administrative responsibilities and coordinate with local sponsors, and Semafor will pay CCG for their services. The platform will be exclusively underwritten by corporate partnerships with no financial contributions from our local Chinese partners or the Chinese government."[26]
Sara Fischer and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, reporting for Axios, wrote that the "speech and activities of Chinese Communist Party-linked groups are strongly influenced by Beijing. Semafor has not detailed how it plans to disclose to its audiences during live events or via digital coverage details about the group's affiliation to the CCP."[27]
