China operates world's largest education system of quality: minister

China operates the world's largest education system of quality, with preschool education and compulsory education reaching the average levels of high-income countries, Education Minister Huai Jinpeng said at a press conference in Beijing on Saturday.

"Education connects both the welfare of all families and the future of the country, as it concerns the growth of all children and the cultivation of talent for the modernization drive. Now China is operating the world's largest education system of quality. China has 440,000 schools of all levels and types with 280 million enrolled students and 18.7 million teachers," said the minister at the press conference on people's livelihood at the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.

"The gross enrollment rate for preschool education is 92.9 percent, an increase of 28.4 percentage points compared with that before the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, significantly higher than the average of 84.7 percent of the member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). China's higher education system has produced 55 million graduates during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). Its gross enrollment rate has more than doubled, rising from less than 30 percent before 2012 to over 60 percent today," Huai said.

The gross enrollment rate for senior high schools in China reached 92 percent in 2025, an increase of 7 percentage points compared with that before the 18th CPC National Congress, according to the minister.

"The data that I presented to you demonstrate that we have made new breakthroughs in providing inclusive, high-quality public education services. The coverage and key indicators of basic education have comprehensively surpassed the average level of upper-middle-income countries, with preschool education and compulsory education reaching the average level of high-income countries," Huai told the press conference.

The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress opened on Thursday and is scheduled to run till March 12.

China operates world's largest education system of quality: minister

The European Union is facing the risk of a stagflationary shock as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is driving up energy prices and clouding the economic outlook, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday.

The European Commission's spring 2026 economic forecast, to be released later this week, will see economic growth figures adjusted down and inflation figures up, said Dombrovskis during an interview while attending a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) in Paris.

With the Strait of Hormuz closed and oil prices staying above 100 U.S. dollars per barrel, fears of stagflation have risen in recent weeks, said Dombrovskis, adding that the margin of action by policymakers is "more limited" now.

The commissioner said it's important that the bloc take temporary, targeted support measures rather than measures that sustain high demand for fossil fuels.

Dombrovskis also described the EU's release of strategic oil reserves as "ongoing," while warning of concerns about shortages in areas such as innovative fuels.

The International Energy Agency Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said on Monday that commercial oil stocks are declining "rapidly", with several weeks of supply left due to the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.

Europe could face fuel shortages by the end of this month.

EU at risk of stagflation amid Middle East conflict: commissioner