BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has initiated this year's plan to achieve high-quality development of think tanks for the publishing industry.

The plan aims to forge a batch of outstanding think tanks and cultivate competent professionals tasked with producing influential research achievements, thus advancing theoretical and practical studies in the industry and the application of research advances, according to a circular recently released by the National Press and Publication Administration.

Think tanks selected for the plan will be encouraged to engage in independent research projects and will be subject to performance evaluation, the circular read.

According to the circular, the research projects will focus on topics including optimizing publications on major themes, promoting reading among the public, improving compiling and publishing of ancient books, accelerating the high-quality development of academic journals, and boosting digital publication.