The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese state research institute and think tank. It is a ministry-level institution under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The CASS is the highest academic institution and comprehensive research center for philosophy and social sciences research in China.
The CASS was founded in May 1977. Its predecessor was the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The main research objects of the Academy of Social Sciences are the language, philosophy, law, economy, religion, ethnicity, archaeology, history and literature of China and other countries in the world. The Academy of Social Sciences is divided into 6 academic departments and 37 research institutes.
The predecessor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, established in 1955.[1]
The CASS was established in May 1977 based on splitting the Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the aim of promoting the development of philosophy and social sciences, under the instruction of Deng Xiaoping.[2]: 86–87 The first president was Hu Qiaomu.[2]: 87
In 1979, CASS Vice President Huan Xiang led the first Chinese delegation of social scientists to travel to the United States.[2]: 88
The CASS is a ministry-level institution under the State Council.[3][4][5][6] As of 2012[update], CASS has over 3,200 resident scholars.[7][needs update] As of November 2020, the CASS has 6 university departments, 42 research institutes, 6 functional departments, 5 directly affiliated institutions, and 3 directly affiliated companies.[8] Of its functional departments, five are focused on research.[9]
Every quarter, CASS hosts a high-level seminar to which it invites officials from other developing countries to discuss topics including governance in China, poverty alleviation, and socio-economic development.[20]
According to Chen Daoyin, a former professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, CASS "is not so much an academic institution but a body to formulate party ideology to support the leadership."[21] CASS employees periodically submit observations of colleagues' behavior to inspection teams, especially of colleagues who criticize the Chinese Communist Party in private.[22]
^ abcMinami, Kazushi (2024). People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN9781501774157.
^Jian-Ping, Lu (5 August 2019). "China's new strategy for fighting misconduct in academic journals". Chinese Medical Journal. 132 (15): 1865–1866. doi:10.1097/CM9.0000000000000347. PMC6759119. PMID31306224. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued its first policy related to academic ethics on May 30th, 2018, together with the State Council...the new policy clarified that a high-level management system for scientific research integrity with clear responsibilities and efficient coordination should be established, requiring that the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) be responsible for the overall coordination and guidance of scientific research integrity in the fields of natural sciences, philosophy, and social sciences.
^潘衍习 [Pan Yanxi] (2008-11-17), 中国社科出版社三十年硕果累累 [China Social Sciences Press' accumulated achievements of thirty years], People's Daily, archived from the original on 2011-07-21, retrieved 2010-07-14