The China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy (CIIDS), was initiated and founded in May 2010 by the renowned Chinese theorist and strategist Mr. Zheng Bijian, with the distinguished Chinese scientist Academician Lu Yongxiang serving as its honorary advisor. Operating under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CIIDS was subsequently approved by the State Council as a national-level first-class social organization on November 28, 2022. As a leading new-type think-tank with Chinese characteristics, CIIDS focuses on building its strength on four key platforms, respectively on strategic research, international engagement, global communication and innovation empowerment. Over the years, CIIDS has attracted a select group of eminent experts and scholars to sit on its senior advisory and academic committees, all the while staying true to its core mission of conducting research on major domestic and international strategic issues, providing intellectual support and policy consultation services for national macro-level decision-making and governmental policy formulation.

A staunch proponent and promoter of the “Peaceful Rise of China” philosophy, CIIDS is deeply committed to fostering convergence of interests in all directions and at various levels and building communities of interests between China and the wider world, thereby delivering peaceful development for all. Since its inception, CIIDS has conducted  a series of major research projects, covering a broad spectrum of strategic domains, including China’s international strategy, major-country strategy, peripheral strategy, domestic innovation and development strategy, cyberspace governance, energy governance, and social governance. Many of CIIDS’s policy recommendations have been adopted by China’s central authorities and integrated into the nation’s domestic and foreign policy frameworks.

A steadfast champion in telling China’s stories well and making China’s voices heard, so as for the world to better understand China, a host of major international engagement and communication projects have been undertaken by CIIDS under the grand overarching theme “Understanding China”:

In cooperation with the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Governments of Beijing Municipality and Guangdong Province, and renowned overseas think tanks, CIIDS launched the Understanding China Conference (UCC), which has to date been successfully convened eight times, drawing the attendance of hundreds of globally-esteemed statesmen, strategists and entrepreneurs from around the world, making the event one of the most influential platforms for the world to understand China’s development strategies.

President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the UCC and has been providing strong support for it, having met with the international guests in-person three times, sent over five congratulatory messages, and delivered one video opening speech over the years. In March 2020, with the approval of the central authorities, the UCC was officially recognized as a regular feature on China’s diplomatic and international communication calendar, held annually after the closing of the plenum of the CPC Central Committee or the CPC National Congress to interpret to the world such meetings’ guiding principles and the ruling party’s state-governing practices. The secretariat of the UCC runs within the office headquarters of CIIDS in Beijing.

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 whole slew of key communication projects, including The Understanding China Book Series, The Understanding China Documentary: An Exchange On China, The Understanding China short video series, and The Understanding China Talks, to name just a few.