Rural Leadership in Action: How European and Chinese Partners Are Collaborating for Sustainable Innovation How can rural communities drive innovations to increase sustainability? In October 2025, the CSCP joined European and Chinese partners in Xiamen, China for the launch the NEXRUR project, which aims to o-develop business models that are next generation and community led. The goal: to empower farmers and rural stakeholders across Europe and China to build resilience and drive greener local economies. NEXRUR’s main objective is to explore innovation dynamics and strategies for change in rural areas in the Europe and China. The project enables farmers and their communities to develop, select, and scale next-generation sustainable, community-led business models and monitor their economic, social, and environmental impact on rural resilience. The “next-generation sustainable community-led business models” NEXRUR refers to approaches that: Place communities in the front seat Build on multi-actor, mixed-method principles Transform socio-ecological benefits into tangible economic competitiveness. Bringing together a multidisciplinary consortium from nine European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands) alongside leading Chinese institutions, the project will foster EU–China collaboration for inclusive and sustainable rural transformation. The CSCP plays a central role in developing and implementing stakeholder engagement methodologies. Under its coordination, National Stakeholder Panels (NSPs) will be established in participating countries and China to bring together farmers, policymakers, businesses, and community representatives. These panels will help refine project outcomes such as local measures, policy recommendations, and strategies for scaling successful community-led business models. The CSCP will also monitor performance and lessons learned from these panels, ensuring effective implementation and knowledge transfer across the project. Additionally, through the creation of a European Stakeholder Panel, the project will connect diverse experiences, promote best practices, and foster dialogue between European and Chinese partners on sustainable rural business models. The project will run for four years, from 2026 to 2029. It is funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme. For further questions, please contact Ahmad ur Hafiz