POLICY AND WORKING CONCEPT

CIRD follows an open strategy for its research and human resources development which features "a small organization with a large network". The regular staff of CIRD consists of about 60 competent members, forming professional teams with expertise in various fields. Meanwhile, CIRD maintains a large network of top researchers. On the Academic Committee of CIRD headed by Prof. Wang Mengkui, Director (Minister) of Policy Research Office under the State Council, there are twenty-four highly qualified Chinese economists and CIRD's network of guest research fellows is over 150-member strong.

Through its effective organization, CIRD takes full advantage of the research ability and influence of the network. Advised and academically supported by the network, CIRD provides policy advice and consultancy by submitting research reports and policy proposals to relevant ministries and commissions of the State Council, which has produced widely recognized influence on empirical research, formulation of economic theories and top policy decision making. This research model is widely praised as "Action Research" on China's transitional economy.

Being an independent and professional center of competency, CIRD has been the location for discussing and evaluating numerous important policies before they are officially promulgated. Topics involved include: Macro Economic Reform in China, Principles and Guidelines of Market Economy, Social Security System Reform, Financial Reform, Reform of Commercial Banks, Securities Market, State-owned Enterprise Reform, Enterprise Restructuring and the Share-holding System, Development of Collective and Private Economies, Deepening Rural Reform, Corporate Governance, Development of Regional Economy, Economy in Special Economic Zones, Good Governance for Poverty Alleviation, Employee Stock Ownership System, Rural Land Policy and Legislation, Financial Opening and Safety, Income Distribution System Reform, Promotion of Grassroots Democracy and Reform of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, etc.

CIRD plays an important role of a bridge between transitional countries in the field of research, policy advice and training on economic reform, with the support of concerned government authorities. It has been carrying out international cooperation projects with the UNDP, World Trade Organization, German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the World Bank and the International Republican Institute and the Rural Development Institute (RDI) in the United States. What is more, it has formed a comprehensive network of academic exchanges with a large number of academic institutions and universities in Germany, the United States, the UK, Holland, Canada, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as East European and Central Asian countries.

For the future, CIRD is prepared to conduct analytical studies on China's structural reform at the beginning of the 21st Century, priorities of China's Reform after its WTO Accession, development of the western regions, further reform of the public utilities and infrastructure, comparative studies of other transitional economies, legislation of rural land use right system, protection of farmer's rights etc, and to consolidate its international feature in researching transitional economy.