On January 4, 2024, the Major Program of National Natural Science Foundation "Cooperative Observation, Transformation Mechanism and Scenario Simulation of Rural Areal System" held its 2023 progress seminar at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGSNRR, CAS). The seminar featured the participation of invited Program consulting experts including Academician Lu Dadao, Academician Fu Bojie, Academician Cui Peng, Academician Yu Guirui, Professor Liu Yaolin, Professor Zeng Gang, Researcher Fang Chuanglin, Professor Zhao Pengjun, and others. Xiong Juhua, Director of the Earth Sciences Division of the National Natural Science Foundation Committee, was invited to attend, while Cui Jing, Deputy Director of the Research Department at IGSNRR, represented the organizing unit of the program. Over 100 individuals, including program leaders and core researchers from the three sub-programs, Researcher Liu Yansui from IGSNRR, Professor Zhang Liqiang from Beijing Normal University, and Academician Guo Renzhong from Shenzhen University, as well as the research team from the Regional Agriculture and Rural Development Research Center at IGSNRR, participated in the seminar. The agenda included introductions by expert leaders, progress reports on the program and sub-programs, guidance and exchanges with expert leaders, and discussions on key research achievements of the program.

　　Deputy Director Cui Jing first introduced the background of the seminar and the attending distinguished guests, delivering a welcome address on behalf of the program's lead unit, congratulating the successful implementation of the program and the fruitful results achieved during the year. Valuable opinions and suggestions were solicited from the expert group. Progress reports on the program and sub-programs and guidance and exchanges with expert leaders were chaired by Academician Fu Bojie, Director of the program Consulting Expert Committee. Program leader Liu Yansui provided the initial progress report on the program's annual advancements, detailing the execution status in 2023, major research outcomes, identified issues and recommendations, and the research plan for the upcoming year.

　　Subsequently, Liu Yansui, Professor Zhang Liqiang, and Associate Professor Hong Wuyang reported on the annual research progress of the three sub-programs, while Researcher Wang Liming from IGSNRR presented on the development of the program's comprehensive integration platform. Following the presentations, expert attendees and leaders highly praised the annual progress of the program and its sub-programs, acknowledging the series of achievements made and offering valuable suggestions to further advance the research. Program leader Liu Yansui expressed gratitude on behalf of the program team to the Earth Sciences Division of the National Natural Science Foundation for their attention and strong support, appreciating the experts' recognition and meticulous guidance on the program's progress. He emphasized the importance of carefully reviewing and implementing the valuable suggestions and improvement proposals put forward by the experts, enhancing internal communication and mutual support among the program's sub-programs, conducting organized research and thematic consultations, refining core achievements, and striving for further progress.

　　The latter part of the seminar focused on the exchange and discussion of key research achievements of the sub-programs, with program leaders Liu Yansui, Professor Zhang Liqiang, and Academician Guo Renzhong presiding over the sessions. Sub-program leaders and core researchers presented the annual key progress and highlight achievements of their respective sub-programs, followed by evaluations and academic exchanges. During the open discussion session, Academician Guo Renzhong, Professor Zhang Liqiang, Professor Liu Chengfang, Professor Luo Renfu, Professor He Jianhua, Researcher Wang Liming, Researcher Li Yurui, and Researcher Wang Jieyong provided insights and strategic advice on focusing issues, innovative mechanisms, prominent features, and strengthening collaborations. Program leader Liu Yansui reiterated the importance of advancing the research of the Major Program of National Natural Science Foundation and serving the country's major strategic needs. He encouraged all researchers involved in the program to take on responsibilities, make unremitting efforts, and dedicate themselves wholeheartedly. He emphasized the need to consider the program's research positioning and role from the perspective of strengthening basic research in the National Natural Science Foundation, systematically advancing collaborative research on basic theories, technical methods, and application-oriented breakthroughs, and achieving significant outcomes. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of diligently implementing the guidance provided by program consulting experts in the new year, leveraging the coordinating role of the program's "one office and four groups," and focusing on managing the relationships between sub-programs and program plans, indicators and coordinated observations, models and system integration, cases and regional types, as well as current situations and scenario patterns.

The program and sub-program leader reports reported progress

The consulting experts put forward suggestions on the annual research progress

Group photo of consulting experts and program team members.