The National Key Research Program on Global Change Study, “Air-Land-Sea (ALS) interactions in Asia and their role in the global climate change” was implemented in 2010. The ALS project team has achieved many of the program’s scientific objectives in various fields. In the field of climatic dynamics, we found that the variations of sea surface temperature (SST) over the Indo-western Pacific warm pool are a vital driver for the interdecadal variability of the global tropical climate and an important modulator of global-scale subtropical droughts. We found an air-sea coupled cold-tongue SST mode in the eastern tropical Pacific and demonstrated the important role of this mode in the formation of different types of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) patterns. Furthermore, we illustrated the mechanisms involved in these patterns and their different influences on the East Asian climate. The characteristics of the thermal forcing anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau and their possible climatic effects are explored. In addition, we proposed a new theory of planetary waves in non-uniform basic flow, and performed preliminarily analysis of its features under different conditions of the East Asian summer monsoon. In the field of climate prediction methods, we developed several physically-based statistical prediction techniques or models, such as the new approach of time-scale decomposition downscaling, an empirical North Atlantic Oscillation-ENSO-based seasonal prediction model of the East Asian summer monsoon, and an empirical Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode-based East Asian climate prediction model. The good performances of these prediction models provide important references for the relevant project operational divisions. From the observational and data assimilation aspect, our achievements include the integrated ocean observation along the 18°N cross-section in the South China Sea, which laid the foundation for the formation of China’s first long-term cross-section observation in the South China Sea. As for relevant international cooperation, the ALS project also continues to promote the leadership of the international programs of “Asian Monsoon Years (AMY 2007-2012)” and “East Asian Climate Modeling,” which would enhance the international status of China in related fields.