[2][3][4] Its founding director is Sebastian Heilmann, who after five years at the helm of the institute returned to his position as a professor for the political economy of China at the University of Trier.

Since February 2020, the institute is led by Mikko Huotari as Executive Director and Bettina Bubnys as Chief Financial Officer.

[5] In March 2021, MERICS was one of several entities sanctioned by the Chinese government for "severely harm[ing] China's sovereignty and interests and maliciously spread lies and disinformation," subsequent to sanctions imposed by the European Union on Chinese government officials in Xinjiang for their role in what the EU Council called a "large-scale surveillance, detention, and indoctrination program targeting Muslim ethnic minorities.

"[6][7] MERICS conducts interdisciplinary research on political, economic and social trends in China and their impact on Europe and the global community.

[22] The institute hosts regular events from internal expert roundtables to public panels online and at its offices in Berlin.