Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS)

The Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) was established in 1960 as a comprehensive research institution, one of the earliest government-affiliated think tanks in China dedicated to international studies. Over the past six decades, SIIS has played a crucial role in conducting strategic research, providing policy recommendations, and contributing to the understanding of international politics, economics, security, and other related fields. It has evolved into an important institution informing and shaping China’s foreign policy and global engagement, and has been accredited as one of the most influential think tanks in China and around the world.

SIIS consists of six research institutes: the Institute for Global Governance Studies, the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, the Institute for World Economy Studies, the Institute for International Strategic and Security Studies, the Institute for Public Policy and Innovation Studies, and the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macao Studies. Additionally, it includes eleven regional studies centers: the Center for American Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies, the Center for African Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Center for European Studies, the Center for South Asian Studies, the Center for Northeast Asia Studies, the Center for Southeast Asia Studies, the Center for Maritime and Polar Studies, and the Center for World and Shanghai Studies. SIIS has also set up several project-based research platforms: the Center for the Study of Chinese Diplomatic Theory and Practice, the Center for Shanghai-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation, the Center for International Cyberspace Governance, the Center for People-to-People Diplomacy, the Center for International Communications, etc.

SIIS is the founding chair and leading institution of the Think Tank Forum under the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). It is also the Chinese member of the Think 20 (T20) under the G20 framework and a member of the Council of Councils (United States).

Domestically, SIIS serves as the presiding institution for the Shanghai Society of International Relations and the Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies. It also hosts various academic organizations, including the Shanghai Institute for Japanese Studies, the Shanghai Institute for European Studies, and the Institute of Asia’s Future.

In partnership with the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, SIIS established the Shanghai Research Base for People-to-People Diplomacy. It maintains a post-doctoral research station with East China Normal University and co-founded the Shanghai Academy of International Organizations and Global Governance with the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

SIIS publishes two academic journals: Global Review in Chinese (a bimonthly publication and core journal indexed by CCCSI) and the China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies in English. It also releases research reports in both Chinese and English on an irregular basis.