With the continuous advancement of China's urbanization, it is increasingly important to optimize the urban governance system and improve its capacity. The China Institute for Urban Governance (CIUG) was jointly established by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the Development Research Center of Shanghai Municipal People's Government under the auspices of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government on October 30^th , 2016. The mission of the institute is to build a new type of think tank with world reputation and Chinese characteristics that serves as a base to attract and cultivate high-end talents. Under the CIUG an academic committee is being established, of which Prof. Meric Gelter, President of the University of Toronto, Canada, is invited to assume chairmanship.

Since its establishment, the CIUG has leveraged the multidisciplinary advantages of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Arts, Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture. It has focused on addressing prominent challenges faced by mega-cities, primarily Shanghai. The institute adheres to the principles of Innovation, Coordination, Green Development, Openness, and Sharing as part of the new development philosophy. It aligns with the national overall plan of comprehensively advancing the "Five-Pronged" strategy. The institute has been engaged in continuous research across five major areas: urban innovation and high-quality development, urban-rural integration and regional collaboration, urban ecology and environmental governance, urban image and online communication, and urban safety and social governance. As a result, it has produced a series of research outcomes.

The CIUG has increased its impact on decision-making as its core focus. As of October 2024, it has submitted a total of 1866 policy recommendations, with 1147 of them receiving instructions and being adopted. Among these, 165 were adopted with instructions from leaders at the Vice-national level or above, 348 at the Ministerial level, and 253 at the Deputy Ministerial level.

Based on scientific research, the CIUG is committed to creating academic influence. It has published over 500 high-quality papers in top Chinese and English journals, as well as international urban studies journals. More than 300 media articles have been published in outlets such as Xinhua News, People's Daily Online, and Liberation Daily. 4 urban governance related indices have been released; 18 monographs, 10 series of research works on Chinese urban governance, 5 series and 3 translations of "Delicate as Embroidery", and 5 issues of urban governance research and 12 English journal Urban Governance were also published. The internally established "K.Wah Big Data Center" supports research with essential big data.

The CIUG focuses on conferences and forums to establish both domestic and international influence. Since 2016, as the consistent organizer of the Global Cities Forum on "World Cities Day", it hosted 8 sessions. The CIUG sponsored and hosted the Academic Seminar on Urban Governance in the New Era and two Global (Chinese) Urban Governance and Policy Conference; the CIUG also hosted 2 Annual Conferences of the Asian Association for Public Administration. Furthermore, it pioneered the initiation of the first selection of best practice cases for urban governance in the Yangtze River Delta and two selections of best practice cases for urban governance in Shanghai.

In 2018, the CIUG was nominated as one of the top 100 university think tanks in China Tank Index (CTTI) in 2018, the new think tank of "new think tank with Chinese characteristics" in 2018 China Think Tank Report of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

In 2019, the CIUG was selected as the "University Think Tank in Shanghai".

In 2020, the CIUG was selected as the "Key Think Tank in Shanghai".

In 2022, the CIUG was selected as A+ on the China Think Tank Index (CTTI) list of the Top 100 Think Tanks associated with universities.

In 2023, four policy recommendations won the 14th Shanghai Decision-making Consulting Award; two policy recommendations won the special prize of CTTI2023 Think Tank Research Outstanding Achievements.

In 2024, the CIUG was rated as excellent in the evaluation within the pilot period of the first batch of key think tanks construction in Shanghai; The CIUG will continue to develop as a key think tank in Shanghai, participating in the pilot phase of Shanghai’s new cycle of think tank construction models.