A student operates an AI-powered VR device at Shenzhen Xiantian Foreign Language School in south China's Guangdong Province, March 21, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- To accelerate China's long-term goal of building a strong nation in education, authorities said the country is poised to explore new models for nurturing top-notch innovative talents in strategically vital fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and integrated circuits.

To this end, China will establish a talent cultivation mechanism aligning industrial development with national strategic demands, and further adjust and optimize academic disciplines and majors, according to Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng.

The country will also promote the integration of vocational and general education as well as industry-education collaboration, implement cluster training plans for highly skilled talents, and optimize vocational education to better serve regional development and support industrial growth, Huai told Xinhua in an interview.

At a key Communist Party of China plenum held in Beijing last month, the Party leadership adopted recommendations for formulating the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for economic and social development, which specified expanding and improving higher education, with increased enrollment in quality undergraduate programs.

The recommendations also stressed achieving greater self-reliance, strengthening science and technology, and boosting China's education, sci-tech and human resources in a well-coordinated manner over the next five years.

Talking about plans and tasks of boosting education in the next five years, Huai said China will establish national interdisciplinary centers, strengthen the cultivation of young sci-tech talents in universities, and leverage regional technology transfer centers and institutes of advanced studies to translate more sci-tech achievements into practical productive forces.

He pledged to promote in-depth educational reforms and expand opening up, advance the comprehensive reform of the college and middle school entrance examination systems, strengthen international academic exchanges and educational research cooperation, and actively participate in global education governance.

In light of changes in the school-age population, China will dynamically optimize the allocation of educational resources, advance the balanced development of compulsory education, foster the inclusive development of preschool education, and provide quality education for special groups, Huai noted.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, China has made solid strides toward building a strong education system, and advancing science and technology education in tandem with humanities education.

Higher education institutions have cultivated some 55 million graduates in this period, while the vocational system has delivered more than 70 percent of the new high-skilled workers fueling the country's modern industries, Huai said.

To meet demand in strategically important fields, China has been reshaping its talent pipeline, as in the past two years alone, more than one-fifth of academic programs have been adjusted, said the minister.

Putting students' health first, China has fully implemented the policy of two hours of daily physical activities at primary and secondary schools. Breaks between classes have been extended to 15 minutes.

Equity in compulsory education has been basically achieved in 2,895 counties nationwide. This autumn semester, the phased free preschool education policy has benefited 12 million children in their final year of kindergarten.

China has launched an action plan to enhance the development of county-level high schools, striving to provide high-quality senior high school education in rural areas and county towns. Additionally, the educational rights of special groups have been guaranteed, with financial assistance fully covering economically disadvantaged students across all stages and types of schools.

China has dispatched teachers under an assistance program to work in the central and western regions to support the high-quality development of education in these areas.

China is also deepening its international engagement in the education sector. The UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education, established in Shanghai, provides a fresh global platform for driving educational innovation. The Smart Education of China, a digital education platform, is now accessible to global users in 220 countries and regions.