CIIDS

China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy or CIIDS was established in May 2010 originally as an in-house research arm of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and was approved by the State Council as a national non-profit organization on November 28th, 2022. With Mr. Zheng Bijian, the lead Chinese theorist and strategist its founding chair and the renowned Chinese scientist Mr. Lu Yongxiang its honorary advisor, CIIDS has attracted a large group of esteemed statesmen, diplomats, military strategists, economists and academicians to sit on its advisory and academic committees. CIIDS considers its core mission to be the brain trust of the top Chinese leadership, conducting research on major domestic and international strategic issues to offer macro-policy advice and strategic recommendations to the Chinese government.

A staunch proponent of China's peaceful rise, CIIDS strongly advocates developing convergence of interests in all directions and at various levels and building communities of interests between China and the world, with an eye to delivering peaceful development for all. Since its inception, CIIDS has conducted a wide spectrum of major research projects on China's international strategy, major country strategy, neighboring countries strategy, domestic innovation & development strategy, cyberspace governance, energy governance, social governance, and state governing philosophy. Many of CIIDS’s policy recommendations have been adopted by the Chinese leadership and incorporated into the government's domestic and foreign policies.

Deeply committed to helping the world gain a better understanding of China through telling the China Story well and making China's voice heard, CIIDS has undertaken a series of major international communication projects under the theme of Understanding China. The Understanding China Conference, a CIIDS flagship international event which has thus far been put together for six times in collaboration with the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Governments of Beijing Municipality and Guangdong Province and world-renowned think tanks, has seen hundreds of statesmen, strategists, and business leaders from around the globe join their Chinese counterparts for in-depth dialogues. Over the years, the Understanding China Conference has established itself as one of the most influential platforms for the world to understand China’s development strategies.

The Chinese leadership have shown their personal attention and support for the Conference from day one. President Xi Jinping has, to date, met and held dialogues in person with the international participants for three times and has sent as many congratulatory messages. In 2021, the President addressed the opening ceremony via video link. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, among other senior government and Party leaders, has also attended and addressed the Conference over the years. 

In March 2020, the Understanding China Conference was formally recognized by the government as a regular international event, scheduled to take place following the conclusion of the CPC National Congress or the yearly plenum of the CPC Central Committee to get across the guiding principles of these important CPC conventions and the Party’s statecraft at home and beyond.  

Joining hands with Xinhua News Agency, China Media Group (CMG), and China International Communications Group (CICG), among others, in a bid to present to the international audience an all-round and multi-dimensional China, CIIDS has launched a number of weighty projects, including The Understanding China Book Series, The Understanding China Documentary: What Makes China China, The Understanding China short video series, and The Understanding China Talks, to name just a few. 

CIIDS currently runs a number of research centers, such as Center for High-Quality Development Studies, Center for Chinese Civilization and Chinese Path Studies, Center for China Economic and Financial Studies, Center for International Strategic Studies and Center for Digital Governance Studies, Center for Carbon Neutral Smart Manufacturing Innovation, and Center for Educational Studies. On the strength of such research teams, CIIDS is doing academic and policy research in fields as varied as politics, economy, science and technology, culture, diplomacy and ecological environment, and has yielded many a merited result.