Leadership Structure

Article 6 The National Natural Science Foundation of China shall have one president and several vice presidents, who shall be appointed by the State Council. The president of the National Natural Science Foundation of China shall be the legal representative, preside over the overall work, and be accountable to the State Council. The vice presidents shall assist the president in his (or her) work.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China shall have one secretary-general and several deputy secretaries-general. The appointment of the secretary-general shall be submitted to the competent authorities for approval according to the relevant stipulations, and the deputy secretaries-general shall be appointed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Article 7 The National Natural Science Foundation of China shall have 25 General Assembly members. Scientists, engineering and management experts from the institutions of higher learning, research organizations, government departments and enterprises shall be appointed General Assembly members, with a term of office of five years.

The president and vice presidents of the National Natural Science Foundation of China shall be ex officio General Assembly members, and other members shall be nominated by the president and be submitted to the State Council for approval.

Article 8 The National Natural Science Foundation of China shall have a plenary session of the General Assembly (hereinafter referred to as the plenary session), council meeting, the president's working meeting and the secretary-general's working meeting.

Article 9 The plenary session shall be attended by the General Assembly members and shall be chaired by the president or a vice president entrusted by the president. The plenary session shall review, supervise and advise on the work of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The plenary session shall be held at least once each year with a quorum of two-thirds of all General Assembly members. The matters presented to the plenary session for review must be put to a vote and be adopted by a majority of all General Assembly members before they become resolutions. The president shall have the right to convene a plenary session to discuss important matters.

The responsibilities of the plenary session shall be:

1. Study important measures for the implementation of the state principles and policies on the development of science and technology;

2. Review the annual work reports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China;

3. Review the development programs and annual plans of the National Natural Science Fund;

4. Review the annual financial reports of the National Natural Science Foundation of China;

5. Review the work reports of the Supervision Committee of the National Natural Science Foundation of China;

6. Review the Constitution of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and its amendments;

7. Discuss other important matters.

Article 10 The council meeting shall be made up of the president, the vice presidents, the secretary-general, the deputy secretaries-general and the director-general of the general office, and be chaired by the president or a vice president entrusted by the president. The council meeting shall, in general, be held once every month with a quorum of two-thirds of the members. The resolutions of the council meeting must be adopted by a majority of all members concerned.

The responsibilities of the council meeting shall be:

1. Fulfill all the tasks assigned by the State Council;

2. Implement the important resolutions of the plenary session;

3. Study the development strategies, working principles, policies and regulations of the National Natural Science Foundation of China;

4. Examine and approve the annual budget and final accounts and approve the annual funding plans and proposals;

5. Study the important issues concerning institutional construction;

6. Study other important matters.

Article 11 The president's working meeting shall be chaired by the president or a vice president, and be attended by the leaders of the relevant departments.

The responsibilities of the president's working meeting shall be:

1. Study and implement the decisions made by the council meeting;

2. Brief on the execution of the decisions of the council meeting and supervise their implementation;

3. Study and fulfill the important special tasks assigned by the president;

4. Coordinate important work involving more than one department.

Article 12 The secretary-general's working meeting shall be chaired by the secretary-general or a deputy secretary-general, and be attended by the leaders of the relevant departments. Its responsibilities shall be to study, coordinate and arrange specific work.