The CULR adheres to the philosophy that research should serve national and industrial development, discipline and professional development, education and teaching, and the cultivation of high-quality applied professionals. It consistently focuses on trade unions, fully leveraging the "Labor+" and "Trade Union+" disciplinary advantages to deepen research on theoretical and practical issues in the fields of labor relations and trade unions. The CULR is dedicated to protecting workers' legitimate rights and building harmonious labor relations. Additionally, the CULR actively develops a high-end think tank to conduct specialized and collaborative research on profound and overarching issues in contemporary Chinese labor relations and trade unions. This think tank provides intellectual services to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
Since 2016, guided by the principle that promotes scientific research and think tanks, and following the construction plan of "One Center, Multiple Institutes", the CULR has initiated the development of new think tanks. That year, it established China's first university-based think tank in the field of labor relations and trade unions—the Institute of Labor Relations and Trade Unions. This think tank has submitted reports to the General Office of the Communist Party of China, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and various local party and government agencies. The university also houses six university-affiliated research institutions, including the Research Institute of Grand Craftsmen and Labor Models and the Belt and Road Labor Relations Institute, as well as 18 school (department)-affiliated research institutions, such as the China Workers Development Research Institute. Additionally, the CULR serves as the secretariat for four national academic organizations: the China Trade Union Studies Association, the China Workers History and Status Research Association, the Labor Law Subcommittee of the China Social Law Studies Association, and the National Professional Committee of Enterprise Social Work. The CULR is a leading institution in the fields of worker studies, trade union studies, labor law studies, and enterprise social work in China.
The CULR annually hosts national academic conferences such as the "Annual Meeting of the China Trade Union Studies Association", the "Annual Meeting of the China Workers History and Status Research Association", and the "China Trade Union and Labor Relations Forum", which have become major events for experts and scholars in labor relations and trade union issues both domestically and internationally. The annually published "China Trade Union and Labor Relations Research" has become an essential reference for labor relations and trade union research worldwide.
In the disciplines of labor relations and trade unions, labor law, and labor economics, the CULR boasts a group of influential experts and scholars both domestically and internationally, who have produced a significant number of high-quality research achievements. Over the past five years, the CULR has secured over 100 research projects, including The National Social Science Fund of China, The National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program of the Ministry of Education, the Beijing Social Science Fund, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, the Beijing Educational Science Planning Program, and other ministerial-level projects. Additionally, the CULR has undertaken over 200 various horizontal projects.