On 24 October 2025, the 2nd International Rural Research Conference was held in Beijing. The conference was jointly supported by the Rural Revitalization Academy of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (RRA of CAAS) and the Rural Revitalization Research Center of the Central Party School, and co-organized by the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development (IAED) and the Graduate School of CAAS. Xiaohua Chen, President of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Economics; Mengshan Chen, President of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Technology Economics; Hecheng Zhang, Dean of the Rural Revitalization Academy of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; and Xurong Mei, Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of the Rural Revitalization Academy, attended the conference. Yujiang Ye, Vice President of the CAAS, also attended and delivered a keynote speech.

The conference focused on promoting academic exchanges and in-depth discussion on advancing basic modern living conditions in rural areas. At the opening ceremony, Dean Hecheng Zhang released the Report on Progress of China Rural Studies 2025, which systematically tracks key topics and emerging frontiers in rural studies in China and worldwide, and aims to contribute to the construction of a comprehensive knowledge system for rural studies. As an important think tank report of IAED, it has been published for two consecutive years and has become an important window for the international community to understand the development of rural studies in China. In the afternoon, two parallel sessions—High-quality development of rural industries and Rural construction and governance—were held. A total of 18 experts and scholars from China, the Netherlands, UK, Japan, South Korea and other countries delivered academic presentations and engaged in extensive exchanges.

More than 300 participants attended the conference, including officials from multiple departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), representatives from CAAS departments, faculty members and graduate students from domestic institutes and universities, as well as international scholars.