China's Historical Balance Sheets (CHBS) is an ambitious project dedicated to constructing China’s long-term national balance sheets. This initiative aims to provide high-quality data infrastructure essential for understanding China’s historical evolution, exploring Chinese modernization, and improving national governance.

CHBS is initiated and led by Professor Zhang Xiaojing of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Serving as the exclusively available data source of China's national balance sheets, CHBS fills the gap in China's national economic accounting system.

CHBS evolved from the China’s National Balance Sheets (CNBS) project, which was initiated in 2011. From CNBS to CHBS, the significant change is the emphasis on the long-term perspective (longue durée) and historical dimension. 

CHBS has gained significant recognition within the global academic community, receiving prestigious awards including the inaugural Sun Yefang Financial Innovation Award and the First Prize of the 17th Beijing Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences. Its data has become an authoritative benchmark for analyzing state capacity, growth potential, wealth composition, and debt risks. It is widely cited by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Inequality Database (WID), and top-tier academic journals globally, and is included in the CEIC Global Database.

Current Achievements:

• Compiled and published China’s National Balance Sheets for 1978–2022 (45 consecutive years).
• Trial-compiled China’s National Balance Sheet for 1933.
• Estimated social wealth accounts for the Yangzi River Delta region in the 1820s.
• Actively advancing the estimation of China’s national balance sheets spanning the 19th century (1820–1910) and 20th century (1910–1978).