By Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education of the People’s Republic of China Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized that ‘education is the bedrock of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation’. The Chinese government has always adhered to the principle of prioritizing education and is committed to developing equitable and quality education. In 2024, […] The post Developing higher education to support modernization in China appeared first on World Education Blog.
By Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education of the People’s Republic of China
Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized that ‘education is the bedrock of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation’. The Chinese government has always adhered to the principle of prioritizing education and is committed to developing equitable and quality education. In 2024, China convened the National Conference on Education, setting the strategic goal of building a leading country in education by 2035, making the promotion of equity and quality in education a national commitment, dedicating itself to ensuring that education provides solid support for modernization and the well-rounded development of individuals. As the primary hub for nurturing innovative talent, the main force in basic research, and a key source of major scientific and technological breakthroughs, the development and effectiveness of higher education are directly linked to the nation’s future. It is increasingly becoming one of a country’s most valuable assets. China is striving to translate these goals and commitments into concrete actions, comprehensively advancing the high-quality development of higher education.
First, meeting the needs of the people by continuously expanding the scale of higher education. From 1998 to 2025, the number of higher education institutions in China increased from 1,022 to 3,167, more than tripling. The number of enrolled students grew from 3.6 million to over 48 million, an increase of more than tenfold. The gross enrollment rate rose from 15% in 2002 to 30% in 2012, reaching 61.2% today, nearly doubling every decade. This marks China’s transition to a stage of universal access in higher education, representing a historic leap forward, as highlighted in the 2026 Global Education Monitoring Report, whose launch in Paris I attended on March 25. While expanding scale, we have continuously improved educational quality, increased the supply of undergraduate educational resources, promoted international cooperation in running schools, enabling more students to have access to quality higher education.
Second, advancing scientific and technological progress by vigorously enhancing the innovative quality of higher education. China has implemented a series of major national plans and initiatives to guide universities toward excellence and the pursuit of scientific breakthroughs. The country has launched programmes in fundamental disciplines and interdisciplinary breakthroughs to strengthen the scientific research foundation and cultivate young innovative talent in cutting-edge fields. New platforms, such as regional technology transfer centres, university science parks, advanced research institutes, and technology business schools, have been established, integrating practical teaching, scientific research, technology transfer, and innovation and entrepreneurship to create a robust innovation ecosystem. Continuous increases in R&D investment in higher education institutions have contributed significantly to enhancing the nation’s overall innovation capacity. China’s comprehensive ranking in the National Innovation Index now stands at 10th globally, to which higher education has made a vital contribution.
Third, supporting economic and social development by comprehensively improving the quality of talent cultivation in higher education. With its vast market and the world’s most complete industrial system, China has a massive and diverse demand for high-calibre talent. Each year, Chinese higher education institutions supply over 10 million graduates to society, more than half of whom specialize in STEM-related fields. Vocational education provides over 70% of the new high-quality, high-skilled talent for modern industries. Meanwhile, reforms to align talent supply with demand are actively promoted, exploring demand-oriented engineering education models. This has created a rich talent pool that enhances the resilience of China’s economy, making it a key driver of Chinese modernization and global innovation.
Fourth, promoting equity in education by effectively ensuring equitable access to higher education. China is committed to providing a safety net in education for youth, establishing a financial aid system for university students. With annual funding exceeding RMB 200 billion (USD 29.3 billion), covering nearly 47 million beneficiaries, this system ensures that no young person is deprived of education due to family poverty or is burdened by the costs of quality education. Special national enrolment programmes for rural and formerly impoverished areas have admitted 1.37 million students cumulatively. Simultaneously, the widespread application of intelligent technologies is being promoted, along with the development and implementation of the National Smart Education Platform, of which the international version has now covered over 200 countries and regions to make high-quality educational resources more accessible and inclusive, transcending geographical barriers.
China is currently implementing its 15th Five-Year Plan, driving educational reform and development toward the goal of building a leading country in education by 2035. This timeline aligns closely with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially SDG 4. Today, global scientific and technological innovation, economic development, and civilization progress face a series of new difficulties and challenges. In particular, the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, with new technologies like artificial intelligence profoundly reshaping modes of production and lifestyles. Humanity once again stands at a crossroads in history. As the wellspring of global civilization development and a key force that has enabled humanity to overcome numerous challenges and progress step by step, higher education should play an even greater role. In this regard, I would like to offer the following proposals.
First, promoting a shift in higher education toward greater emphasis on competency development and value guidance. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the educational ecosystem. Universities worldwide should place greater emphasis on cultivating students’ core competencies, such as critical thinking, interdisciplinary thinking, global perspectives, and the ability to address complex challenges. Efforts should be made to deeply integrate scientific and technological education with humanities education, fostering both a spirit of scientific exploration and a foundation of humanistic care. Balancing accessibility and quality, digital education and artificial intelligence should be effectively leveraged to provide equitable, high-quality educational resources for all learners, especially those in remote areas and from disadvantaged families, ensuring that no student is left behind due to the digital divide. Towards 2030, it is hoped that global higher education will adapt to these changes, guiding students to learn to know, learn to do, learn to live together, and learn to be, enabling them to skilfully utilize and transcend artificial intelligence, and grow into responsible individuals, problem-solvers, lifelong learners, and physically and mentally healthy individuals.
Second, promoting a greater emphasis on cross-sector integration in higher education. The world has entered an era of innovation intensity, characterized by significantly shortened innovation cycles, accelerating interdisciplinary integration, and a new innovation ecosystem defined by supply chain collaboration and technology clusters. In the face of the rapid iteration and application-led development of new technologies in the business sector, higher education can no longer remain insular. It must actively seek cross-sector collaboration with technology and industry. Towards 2030, it is hoped that global higher education will strengthen basic research and interdisciplinary integration, encouraging students to grow by solving real-world problems. Mechanisms that mutually support scientific and technological innovation and talent cultivation while driving high-quality disciplinary development should be explored. Collaboration among government, industry, academia, and finance should be expanded to accelerate the transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements. This will further cultivate, discover, and create knowledge, translating it into commercial value and contributing forward-looking, pioneering solutions to sustainable economic and social development.
Third, promoting a greater emphasis on openness and cooperation in higher education. Education is a bridge for promoting dialogue among civilizations and fostering mutual understanding and trust. Today, challenges such as climate change, public health, energy security, and food crises threaten the achievement of the 2030 global sustainable development goals. Divergences and even conflicts in thinking and cultural values persist among different civilizations and nations. In an interconnected human community, the principles of openness and cooperation, understanding and trust, and innovation and creation among universities are values to uphold and directions to follow. Towards 2030, it is hoped that global higher education will join hands, engage in close exchanges and collaboration, collectively address humanity’s major challenges and global problems, directly tackle economic and social development issues, and jointly advance the reform and innovation of higher education to contribute to the progress of human civilization.
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