07 February 2015

China’s Diplomatic School Ranks “Top 20” American China Experts Using Complex Quantitative Metrics

In January 2015, China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), the nation’s leading diplomatic school, released a report American China Experts (美国 “知华派” 专家, or members of the “School of American-Experts-Who-Know-China”). CFAU Associate Dean Prof. Wang Fan led scholars and analysts from leading universities and research institutions including CFAU, the Central Party School, Peking University, Renmin University of China, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) in the six-month project. The team conducted their evaluation using complex, quantitative, multi-dimensional metrics reminiscent of Chinese researchers’ and think tanks’ periodic (and highly varied and controversial) attempts to calculate top nations’ “comprehensive national power.”

Whatever one thinks of the metrics and precise selection, it is interesting to consider the perspectives that informed them. 

 This Chinese-language article offers further details on the process: 外交学院美国 “知华派” 专家评估项目组发布排名报告 (China Foreign Affairs University American China Experts Assessment Project Team Releases Rankings Report).

 And here is the text of the Chinese-language report: 美国知华派评估报告 (Evaluation Report on American China Experts).

 For those lacking the time to review all the text, here are the top 20 experts mentioned; together with any Chinese names or transliterations thereof, and “final [overall] scores” (最终得分), ascribed to them:*

 

1、大卫·兰普顿 David Lampton 19.484

2、沈大伟 Shambaugh 18.5925

3、金骏远 Avery Goldstein 金骏远 17.96

4、陆伯彬 Robert S. Ross 17.4375

5、谢淑丽 Susan L. Shirk 17.055

6、罗伯特·萨特 Robert Sutter 16.255

7、李成 Cheng Li 15.181

8、傅泰林 M. Taylor Fravel 13.6345

9、季北慈 Bates Gill 13.3575

10、李侃如 Kenneth G•Lieberthal 13.1833

11、Aaron L. Rriedberg 12.5475

12、Michael S. Chase 12.5328

13、卜睿哲 Richard Bush III 12.4702

14、Dali Yang 12.407

15、柯庆生 Thomas J. Christensen 12.0749

16、毛学峰 Andrew C. Mertha 11.325

17、安妮-玛丽·斯劳特 Anne-Marie Slaughter 10.98

18、毛文杰 James C. Mulvenon 10.9558

19、托马斯·罗斯基 Thomas G. Rawski 10.805

20、卡拉·弗里曼 Carla Park Freeman 10.565

 

*All information listed here is taken directly from CFAU report without modification, and I have no responsibility whatsoever for the content. In this regard, it is worth noting that Prof. Aaron L. Friedberg’s surname was misspelled, and that Prof. David Shambaugh’s full name was not given. It is also unclear why Prof. Avery Goldstein’s Chinese name was duplicated, why Prof. Michael S. Chase’s Chinese name was not used, why a Chinese name was not given for Prof. Dali Yang, or why a transliterated Chinese name was not offered for Prof. Friedberg.