Founded in 1949, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) – 中国科学院, which is directly affiliated with the State Council, is China’s leading think tank for natural sciences. Since the 1950s, CAS has been involved in China’s science and technology planning and has launched key national research programs, including the “863 Program,” the “973 Program”, and the National Basic Research Program. CAS is home to 56,000 professional researchers and 114 research institutes, along with 12 branch academies, three universities, and 100 national key labs. Among these are several institutes relevant for agricultural sciences (see section 2).
CAS also operates the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) and is home to 13 botanical gardens and 26 herbaria. Membership in CAS is a lifetime honor given to distinguished scientists in fields ranging from mathematics and physics to biological and medical sciences, and information technology sciences. Currently, CAS has 777 academicians.
More information: https://english.cas.cn/about_us/introduction/201501/t20150114_135284.shtml.