China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) is the think tank of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It conducts research and analysis primarily on medium- and long-term policy issues of strategic importance, particularly those concerning international politics and world economy. It also carries out studies and offers policy recommendations on major events and pressing issues.
The Institute was founded in 1956 under the name of Institute of International Relations (IIR), China Academy of Sciences, and later changed to the Institute of International Relations. It assumed the present name in December 1986. In 1998, the China Center for International Studies (CCIS), formerly a research institution under the State Council, was incorporated into CIIS.
The staff of CIIS consists of nearly one hundred researchers and other professionals. Among them are senior diplomats, leading area-study specialists, and preeminent experts in major fields of foreign affairs. Young scholars at the CIIS all have advanced university degrees in international relations or related disciplines.
CIIS has its own professional library, which is home to over 260,000 books. The collection on international affairs is among the best in the country.
International Studies is the bimonthly journal of CIIS, which provides an influential forum for the discussion of important international issues. Its contributors include CIIS researchers and outside foreign affairs experts. The English-language journal China International Studies, which is another leading journal of CIIS, is the first English academic publication in China on diplomacy and international politics for formal circulation.