The Foundation's China grant-making is directed by its field office located in Beijing. An international staff consisting of a Representative and five Program Officers are responsible for programming. The staff seek out promising opportunities in the office's program areas, carefully evaluate grant applications and, with prospective grantees, develop projects and recommend grants to New York for funding. From January 1988 until September 2005, the Foundation’ Beijing office made grants totaling about $207 million dollars.

Consistent with Chinese preferences, when the Foundation office was opened in 1988 activities were concentrated in three fields: economics, law, and international relations. Subsequently, new lines of work were developed in response to China's evolving needs and changing priorities. Because of the need to address the chronic poverty affecting remote, under-developed areas, and to promote an integrated approach to persistent problems of reproductive health, programs in environment and development and in reproductive health were added in 1989-90. The latest development in 2001 was the introduction of a program on education and culture.

After more than twenty-five years of economic reform, the complexities and the long-term nature of the reform process are more readily apparent. Chinese researchers and government officials have increasingly appreciated that economic reform and opening brings with it social transformations, not all of which are beneficial and few of which are easy to understand or adjust to. At the same time, there is increasing recognition of the need to mobilize the creative potential of all of China’s citizens, including those engaged in emerging non-government organizations, in meeting the challenges facing the country. Currently, the Foundation's efforts in China address eight main areas:

• Economics and Development Finance
• Educational Reform and Cultural Diversity
• Environment and Development
• Governance and Public Policy
• International Governance
• Law and Rights
• Civil Society
• Sexuality and Reproductive Health

Within these areas, staff in the Beijing office employ a number of strategies to maximize the effective use of limited Foundation resources:

• Grant opportunities are identified in light of clearly defined program goals and strategies
• Staff collaborate across certain thematic areas such as gender and poverty
• The Foundation encourages cooperation among all sectors of society--grassroots organizations, NGOs, research centers, universities and government--in order to bring diverse perspectives to bear on a single set of problems
• Problems of pressing national importance and projects with the potential for national impact are given particular attention

The Beijing office also emphasizes a number of cross-cutting themes that are integrated into all areas of work. These themes relate to the Foundation’s underlying mission and include

• A commitment to gender equity
• A focus on poor and disadvantaged groups
• An emphasis on participation as a core value that promotes community-based empowerment
• A commitment to a rights approach
• Support for civil society
• Respect for diversity
• Promotion of philanthropy

In addition, one innovative aspect of the Beijing office’s work is a series of small ‘Good Neighbor Grants.’ These grants are made in response to emergencies, important new issues or sudden needs that arise but do not fit into the normal work program of the office. These grants are managed by the entire local staff of the office.

HIV/AIDS

Like many other places in the world, discrimination and fear in China are serious obstacles to effective HIV prevention programs and the social integration of people living with HIV/AIDS. To address these barriers, the Beijing office supports work that seeks to create a comprehensive approach, which addresses the social, cultural, economic and legal factors related to AIDS and encourages greater inter-sectoral and community participation in reducing AIDS stigma and discrimination. Grant-making supports prevention strategies aimed at empowering individuals and communities to acquire the knowledge, skills and resources needed to protect themselves from the disease; and at overcoming the silence surrounding HIV/AIDS due to its relationship to sexuality and drug use. The program also works closely with both governmental and non-governmental organizations to help raise people’s awareness, to break the silence, and to discuss HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination issues openly.