Established in 2002, ICRAF’s China office is registered under the agreement of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and the CAAS. ICRAF-China has developed strong partnerships with local research institutes, NGOs, and government agencies. Foremost among these is a partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to establish a Center for Mountain Ecosystem Studies (CMES), jointly hosted by the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) and ICRAF-China. CMES provides a platform for national and international research, development, and donor organizations to bring resources to bear on upland issues in China.