China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations
The China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR; KICK-er; Chinese: 中国现代国际关系研究院) is the cover identity of the 11th Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). It is a set of research institutes used as a front to influence foreign diplomats and academics and collect intelligence. Located in Beijing, CICIR is operated by senior MSS officers. A 2009 report from the CIA's Open Source Center concluded that CICIR resembles a "Soviet-style intelligence organ" whose principle intelligence customer is the Foreign Affairs Leading Group. CICIR is overseen by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
| 中国现代国际关系研究院 (Chinese) | |||||||
CICIR logo | |||||||
CICIR headquarters in Beijing in 2023 | |||||||
| Abbreviation | CICIR | ||||||
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| Formation | 1965 | ||||||
| Type | Government-affiliated foreign policy think tank | ||||||
| Headquarters | Beijing, China | ||||||
Alternate name | 11th Bureau of the Ministry of State Security | ||||||
President | Yang Mingjie | ||||||
Parent organization | Ministry of State Security | ||||||
| Affiliations | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Formerly called | China Institute of Contemporary International Relations | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国现代国际关系研究院 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中國現代國際關係研究院 | ||||||
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CICIR has a staff of approximately 400, including 150 senior research fellows. It consists of 15 departments with different regional and functional concentrations, as well as two research divisions focusing on the Korean Peninsula and Central Asia, and eight research centers. CICIR publishes the journal Contemporary International Relations (现代国际关系; Xiàndài Guójì Guānxì) in both Chinese and English, as well as China Security Studies. The institute is authorized to confer master's and doctoral degrees.