The Natural Science Foundation of China sets up corresponding project types according to scientific development trends and national strategic needs. Based on the funding positioning and management characteristics, it is divided into three major funding series: research project series, talent project series and environmental condition project series.

1. General Project General project is a type of project funding with the largest number of projects and the widest subject coverage funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. General project funding accounts for more than 45% of the total funding funding for various projects.

The general project supports scientific and technological workers to freely select topics within the scope of funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and carry out innovative scientific research.

The Natural Science Foundation of China publishes the "National Natural Science Foundation of China Project Guide" every year, proposing the scope of funding and application precautions to guide applications.

2. Key Projects Key projects support scientific and technological workers to combine national needs, grasp the world's scientific frontiers, and carry out in-depth and systematic innovative research work in important research fields or new discipline growth points for which China has a good foundation and accumulation.

Key projects embody the principles of limited goals, limited scale and focused focus, and provide higher-intensity support.

The research fields for accepting applications are determined every year and guidelines are issued to guide applications.

3. Major Projects Major projects carry out interdisciplinary and comprehensive research on major scientific issues that urgently need to be solved in the development of the national economy and society, and generally consist of 4 to 5 research topics.

Major projects are organized and implemented according to unified planning, batch approval, guide guidance, targeted application, peer review, item-by-item demonstration, dynamic management, and expert acceptance.

4. Major research plans Major research plans focus on core scientific issues, integrate and integrate projects with different disciplinary backgrounds, different academic ideas and different funding intensities, form a project group with unified goals, implement relatively long-term support, and promote interdisciplinary research.

Under the national science and technology development strategic framework system, it forms a coherent and complementary relationship with other national science and technology plans to promote the improvement of China's sustainable science and technology innovation capabilities.

The establishment of major research plans is reviewed and approved by the committee meeting on the basis of expert suggestions and full demonstration. After the project is established, an expert steering group and a joint working group are established to organize and manage the implementation of major research plans under the direct guidance of the leaders of the respective management committees.

Guidelines are published nationwide to guide applications.

5. Joint Fund Project In order to promote the connection between knowledge innovation and technological innovation, guide diversified investment, promote the sharing of resources, and promote multi-party cooperation, the Natural Science Foundation of China and other government departments, enterprises, and research institutions jointly funded the establishment of the joint fund project.

Funds or joint funding projects fund basic research in specific areas.

Joint funding is based on the Natural Science Foundation project management method and is open to the whole country. Guidelines are published to the public to guide applications.

6. International (regional) cooperative research projects In order to encourage scientists to participate extensively in international cooperation and competition and improve the level of scientific and technological innovation, the Natural Science Foundation of China actively supports substantive cooperative research conducted by both parties with joint investment, and has established a multi-level, multi-level

channels and a comprehensive international cooperation pattern.

Encourage and support scientists to organize and implement major international cooperative research, selectively participate in cooperation in large-scale international research plans and large scientific projects, strive to strengthen cooperative research under bilateral and multilateral agreements, and focus on accelerating the cultivation of domestic talents and foreign intelligence through cooperation.

Utilize resources to promote the high-quality completion of fund projects, improve the level of China's basic research and its visibility in the international science and technology field.

● Major international (regional) cooperative research projects ● Bilateral (multilateral) international cooperative research agreement projects ● Overseas, Hong Kong and Macao scholars cooperative research projects Talent project series 1. Youth Science Fund is to promote the growth of young scientific and technological workers, cultivate and create development potential

This fund was established to attract outstanding young scientific and technological talents.

Its positioning is to stabilize the young scientific research team, cultivate successor talents, support independent scientific research, stimulate innovative thinking, and continuously enhance the ability of young talents to innovate.

Applicants' age is limited to men under 35 years old and women under 40 years old.

2. National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (including foreign nationals). In order to promote the growth of young scientific and technological talents, encourage and attract overseas scholars and students studying abroad to return to work in China, and accelerate the cultivation of a group of outstanding academic leaders who enter the forefront of world science and technology, the Fund was approved by the State Council in

The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars was established in 1994.

This fund supports outstanding young scholars under 45 years old at home and abroad who are about to return to work in China to engage in basic research in natural sciences in mainland China.

In 2005, the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (foreigners) was launched. Its purpose is to give full play to the advantages of overseas scientific and technological talent resources and support young foreign Chinese scholars under the age of 45 who have high academic standards and good development potential to study full-time.

Mainland China engages in basic research in natural sciences.

3. Innovative Research Group Science Fund The Innovative Research Group Science Fund was established to steadily support cutting-edge research in basic sciences, create an environment conducive to innovation, and cultivate and create talents and groups with innovative capabilities.