China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

The China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations is the cover identity of the 11th Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). It is a set of research institutes used as a front to influence foreign diplomats and academics and collect intelligence. Located in Beijing, CICIR is operated by senior MSS officers. A 2009 report from the CIA's Open Source Center concluded that CICIR resembles a "Soviet-style intelligence organ" whose principle intelligence customer is the Forei