Economists discuss their ideas at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Unirule Institute of Economics. (Provided to China Daily Asia Weekly)

Operating a private think tank in China is not an easy task. Without the government’s blessing, such think tanks can find themselves short of funding, clients and talent. They even have to pay the same business tax as enterprises. However, a small number of private think tanks are not just surviving, but flourishing.

Few of the think tanks that first appeared two decades ago have remained in operation. According to data from the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing, out of approximately 2,000 think tanks in China, only 5 percent are privately owned.

“It is extremely difficult for private think tanks to survive. Although there are many already, most of them cannot grow and develop,” says Feng Xingyuan, vice director of the Unirule Institute of Economics, one of the original, strongest and best-known private think tanks in China.

Unirule was ranked 65 for “think tanks with the most significant impact on public policy” in the 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Index report published by Pennsylvania University. It was also ranked as China’s number two in “impact on public policy” after the official Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and 14th for “best think tanks with an annual operating budget under $5 million”, China’s only entry on this list.

Unirule was among the pioneers. In 1993, five economists from CASS founded the think tank, choosing a name to reflect their wish to unveil universal rules for a future economy.

“The reasons for Unirule’s success are clear goals, an outstanding research team, and independence,” says Feng.

Unirule’s 20-year success story is particularly impressive given the problems that such outfits can encounter. Obstacles are many, according to Zhu Xufeng, a professor at Tsinghua University who has studied China’s think tanks for several years.

“It is very hard for private think tanks to attract the best talent in this country, because they can’t offer the permanent residence (also known as hukou), public healthcare insurance, and other welfares that official think tanks could offer ― not to mention the social status,” he says.

Zhu said the one or two successful cases, such as Unirule, are partly due to the founders’ personal fame.

Unirule’s five founders, Mao Yushi, Zhang Shuguang, Hong Sheng, Fan Gang and Tang Shouning, were already well known before they founded the think tank. “Difficulties will be there if they want to recruit more young talent,” Zhu says.

Feng, one of Unirule’s operators himself, is also a senior research fellow of the Rural Development Institute at CASS. He works for Unirule one day a week.

In a speech earlier this year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Unirule, Mao Yushi, the celebrated economist who is the spiritual leader of the think tank, said that Unirule has made significant contributions to China’s economic and social changes.