The Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance (CIDEG) at Tsinghua University was founded in September 2005 by Chen Qingtai, the first Dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, along with Professor Masahiko Aoki, a renowned economist, Mr. Wu Jinglian, and other renowned academics from home and abroad. It is currently an autonomous research institute of Tsinghua University, which is attached to the School of Public Policy and Management.

The mission of CIDEG is to improve the quality of research and education on public policy and governance in China and to foster communication, understanding, and coordination among academics, business, non-governmental organizations, and government departments. CIDEG focuses on policy research and academic exchanges in the areas of industrial development, environmental governance, and institutional change. 

Since its founding, CIDEG has actively engaged in a variety of research projects and academic activities, built professional research platforms and scholars' networks, published and released a variety of research findings, and produced fruitful results. As a result, CIDEG has emerged as one of the premier think tanks with a significant impact on China's reform and development and is laying the groundwork to become one of the world's first. 

CIDEG continues to focus on environment, energy, and sustainable development, as well as science and technology innovation research and governance, digital economy governance, and other research directions. It has formed a number of research products with social impact and collaborates with the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), University of Cambridge, the APEC China Business Council, Nature, Science, and other international partners, as well as in forums such as the COP. CIDED is still working to develop creative environmental protection skills, establish a solid foundation for energy modeling, and strengthen policy impact.