Beijing rolls out AI education across all primary, secondary schools

Beijing has launched artificial intelligence (AI) education across all primary and secondary schools this semester, marking a major step in China's national push to embed AI into every stage of learning.

China's State Council recently issued a guideline to advance the AI Plus Initiative, accelerating the integration of AI across diverse industries, with a strong emphasis on education.

Many schools in Beijing had already begun piloting AI-focused programs. At Beijing Guangqumen Middle School, students in the school’s first-ever "AI-specialized class" recently attended a preparatory lesson ahead of the autumn semester. "I want to learn some concepts about AI, such as programming and some theoretical knowledge," said student Dong Bolin.

"I think in the future, AI education might be more personalized teaching, almost like having a dedicated teaching assistant just for you," said Pei Shaolei, another student at the school.

Teachers at the school noted that students chosen for the specialized class were picked for their strong performances in mathematics and physics on entrance exams, along with a keen interest in AI.

"We will design some AI-themed courses, such as those related to the currently popular embodied intelligence and brain-computer interfaces, as well as autonomous driving, for the students to experience," said Pei Yi, a teacher at the school.

In addition to offering specialized class instruction, all primary and secondary schools in Beijing will offer at least eight class hours of AI instruction per academic year. These courses can either be delivered independently or integrated with other subjects, such as information technology, according to a work plan of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

"Under the guidance of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, we have collaborated with the digital education center to develop 80 lessons, which are now available on the smart education platform for primary and secondary schools in Beijing. About 150,000 students from over 1,000 schools across 25 provinces and cities nationwide are currently using them," said Lu Xin, head of artificial intelligence course products of an educational technology company.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.