Once a small,secretive institute with the sole target of providing information services for the government, the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SHS) has grown into a full-fledged academic body and one of the leading think tanks in China, and even the world, over the past five decades. Shortly before the SHS" 50th anniversary commemorative conference on July 24, SHS President Yang Jiemian sat down with Beijing Review reporter Yan Wei to explain how the SHS has strived to be successful academically while also serving the country"s economic development and foreign affairs needs. Edited excerpts follow: