The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently announced the list of approved soft science projects for 2025, with a total of 17 projects granted funding.
Among them, Liu Erpeng, a researcher at the Center for International Cooperation and Disciplinary Innovation of Income Distribution and Public Finance (111 Center) , received approval for his project titled "Research on Rural Aging and Elderly Care Issues."
The Soft Science Program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, formerly known as the Soft Science Program of the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Expert Advisory Committee on Rural Revitalization under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was renamed following the recent national institutional restructuring.
This program is primarily focused on policy research. It aims to thoroughly study and implement President Xi Jinping's key directives on issues relating to agriculture, rural areas and the well-being of farmers. It also seeks to fully carry out the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, as well as the directives from the Central Economic Work Conference, Central Rural Work Conference, and the No. 1 Central Document. Focusing on major strategic, policy, and practical challenges in the field of issues relating to agriculture, rural areas and the well-being of farmers, the program requires research to highlight the strategic, forward-looking, and innovative characters, as well as the relevance and practicality of policy measures, aiming to produce findings with significant value for decision-making.
About the Scholar
Liu Erpeng holds a Ph.D. in Management and serves as an associate professor and master's supervisor. He is also recognized as an expert in elderly care services within Hubei Province. His primary research areas include social security and income distribution, the economics of aging, and elderly care services.
Liu has led several key national and provincial research projects, including a project supported in its later stage by the National Social Science Fund of China, a project supported by the Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Fund of the Ministry of Education, a project commissioned by the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs of the CPC (Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group), a major philosophy and social science project of Hubei Province, and a project entrusted by the National Office of the Committee on Aging. He has published over 40 papers in prominent journals such as Social Sciences in China (Internal Manuscripts), Economic Perspectives, Journal of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, Issues in Agricultural Economy, Insurance Studies, and Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment. Several of his articles have been fully reprinted in Xinhua Digest and China Social Science Excellence. Additionally, Liu has authored one monograph and served as associate editor for the textbook Social Assistance and Social Welfare and the blue book Hubei Population and Health Development Report. Many of his think tank research outcomes have been adopted by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, receiving commendations from the main leaders of the CPC Central Committee. Moreover, he has been awarded a Second Prize and a Third Prize for Development Research by the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee and the Hubei Provincial People's Government.