Professor Yuan Wei was born in 1950. He holds a Ph. D. in Economic Statistics, and is the Senior Vice President of Renmin University of China. Prof Yuan's specialty is Statistics. He is a Ph. D. supervisor, and a "National Young Expert of Outstanding Contribution". He is also included in the "Cross-Centennial Outstanding Personnel Program" commissioned by the Ministry of Education, and has been granted the National Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Beijing Labor Medal. Prof Yuan is a recipient of the Special Government Subsidy from the State Council. He has been a member of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council for two terms, and a member of the Steering Committee in Applied Economics under the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council. Professor Yuan Wei is now the convener of the Appraisal Committee in Applied Economics under the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council; a member of the Teaching Supervision Committee of Economics of the Ministry of Education; a member of the Appraisal Panel of the National Social Science Foundation; Deputy Director of the National Statistical Society of China (NSSA); Deputy Director of the Statistical Education Society of China and consultant to the Beijing Municipal Government; Deputy Director of the Advisory Committee for the Education of Masters of Professional Accounting (MPAcc).

Professor Yuan has been in charge of twenty projects commissioned by the National Natural Science Foundation and the National Social Science Foundation in China. The major awards Prof Yuan has been granted include thirteen honors above the provincial and ministerial level. Prof Yuan's major publications include 70 academic papers and 20 books. As a Fulbright Scholar from 1995 to 1996, Prof Yuan pursued further studies at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He has visited and given academic lectures at the University of California at Berkeley, Georgia State University (USA), McGill University (Canada), the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (Japan), Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary), Hong Kong University, and Fu Jen Catholic University.