This was one of the two organizations organized by members of the Chinese Buddhist Association 中國佛教會 at the end of the Civil War. Founding members included Yuányīng 圓瑛, Chén Míngshū 陳銘樞, Zhào Púchū 趙樸初, Lǚ Chéng 呂澂, Zhōu Shújiā 周叔迦, and Jùzàn 巨贊.
This association currently oversees Buddhist activities in China and is based in Guǎngjì Temple 廣濟寺 in Běijīng 北京. It publishes the magazine Fǎyīn 法音. The Association is an independent body, run primarily by monks and nuns. It has provincial, county, and sometimes city branches, and is charged with making sure Beijing's directives are upheld, but it is also charged with giving Buddhism a voice in government and control over its own affairs.
Presidents:
References:
Birnbaum, Raoul. "Buddhist China at the Century's Turn." In Daniel Overmyer, ed. Religion in China Today. The China Quarterly Special Issues: New Series, no. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. 122-144.