The Center for International Agricultural Research (CIAR) is established by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in January 2016 for overseas agricultural research. It serves as an open platform that promotes CAAS's technology going global through trans-sectional cooperation and interdisciplinary research on major scientific innovation missions.

CIAR is the core for a big network of top-down designing, mission setting, coordinated innovation and project implementation. It echoes China's the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative and the Going Global Strategy by becoming the hub for agricultural international cooperation, think tank for economic policies, database for overseas information service and pool of agricultural talents. CIAR strengthens its links with research institutions and companies by working closely with the National Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance (NASTIA), National Network of Agricultural Academies for the Coordination in International Cooperation (NNAACIC) and the China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation (CAPIAC).