China held the 2026 National Social Science Fund annual project review in
Beijing; Politburo member and head of the Central Propaganda Department Li
Shulei attended and spoke. The meeting ordered priority on systematic
theoretical and philosophical study of the Party’s innovation theory and faster
construction of an autonomous Chinese philosophy and social-science knowledge
system to tackle major theoretical and practical issues of Chinese-style
modernization. It called for systemic reform of the National Social Science Fund
and research management—sharpening academic evaluation, promoting rigorous
academic conduct, reorganising funding and institutions to focus on solving real
problems—and urged creative transformation of traditional Chinese culture and
wider deployment of digital‑intelligence tools to empower social-science
research.
