China National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) has recently rolled out its first Charter since the establishment in 1986, in a move to regulate the use, management, distribution, assessment, approval and supervision of the fund.

The Charter is made up of 9 chapters, covering general objectives, governance modality, management bodies, financing management, financial and assets management, personnel management, supervision, and international (regional) cooperation and exchanges. The Charter lines up work criteria and norms of conduct for the Foundation, with clearly defined terms of reference and responsibilities for its decision making, execution, supervision, and consultation components. The Charter provides an institutional guarantee for efficient operation, coordination, transparent management of the Foundation, and for promoting a scientific, standardized, and regulated work process. 

The Charter gives out clear definitions on basic principles, basic procedures, challenge system, and secrecy mechanism for key management links, such as assessing and reviewing candidates to be financed. It also establishes the criteria for selecting assessment and reviewing experts, and functionalities for experts review process and disciplinary assessment group. Major principles are also written down for project management and fund security.