China will further upgrade its basic education to promote fairness, while intensifying the artificial intelligence literacy of teachers and students during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Vice Minister of Education Wang Guangyan said on Wednesday.
The official made the statement at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on accelerating efforts during the 15th Five-Year Plan period to build a leading country in education by 2035.
Endeavor will be made to fully carry out the basic task of fostering virtue through education and improve basic education to let all children enjoy fairer and higher-quality education, said the official.
"We will continue to upgrade basic education, align with changes in school-age populations, and coordinate work in fund guarantee, school layout, supply of school places, and deployment of teachers. We will follow the laws of education, deepen educational and teaching reforms centered on students' growth, continuously enhance the quality of education and teaching, and firmly guard the bottom line of education equity for all children, including children who moved to cities from rural areas with parents, rural children whose parents work in cities, and children with disabilities," the official said.
"We will further expand and improve higher education, promote integrated development of educational science and technology talents. We will advance reforms of higher education institutions on a categorized basis, optimize layout structures, and guide universities to leverage their advantages and develop distinctive features in different fields, so as to better serve national strategies and regional economic and social development," he continued.
He also pledged to accelerate the development of a modern vocational education system to cultivate more highly skilled workers for modern industries, and to build a higher-caliber teaching workforce.
"The ministry will deeply advance the digital and intelligent transformation of the education sector, strengthen and make good use of the national smart education platform, intensify the artificial intelligence literacy of teachers and students, as well as ethical norms and security supervision. We will also deepen international educational cooperation and people-to-people exchanges," said the vice education minister.
China's State Council in June issued an outline plan for developing the education sector during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), stressing efforts to build a strong, globally competitive education system to underpin the country's modernization drive.
The plan said that by 2030, China will have essentially completed the construction of a high-quality education system, establishing a society featuring lifelong learning among residents and greatly enhancing the influence, competitiveness, and voice of its education sector on the global stage.
China to promote education fairness, AI literacy in next 5 years: official
Global observers have welcomed the recent summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, emphasizing that a stable, healthy relationship between the world's two largest economies is essential for global peace and development.
Xi concluded a three-day state visit to the United States on Friday, where he and Trump reaffirmed their commitment to a constructive, strategically stable relationship guided by fairness, reciprocity, and mutual respect.
Ko Ko, chair of the Myanmar Narrative Think Tank, expressed optimism that the two major powers can work together to foster global development and steer the international community toward a stable, prosperous, and peaceful future.
"The world today faces many destabilizing factors and conflicts. If China and the United States, as two major powers, join hands to promote world peace and development, they can help move the world toward greater stability, prosperity, and peace. The two countries should avoid conflict and pursue cooperation, especially in economic and trade fields, thereby contributing to global development," said Ko Ko.
"President Xi uses 'giant ship' to describe China-U.S. relations. I think it's a very appropriate metaphor as giant ship signifies stability and long-term vision, as well as a journey toward a broader future," said Omar Tahboub, editor-in-chief of Olives Green Times (OGT).
Experts also emphasized that as the world's two largest economies, China and the United States carry a collective responsibility to address pressing global challenges through sustained cooperation.
"In my view, I would argue that this strategic new vision, it's very important in the context of U.S.-China relations. And this is because the vision emphasizes the need for cooperation. In terms of cooperation, given the fact that both countries are the largest economies globally, both countries are the most influential countries globally. It is important for them to cooperate and it's also in the realization of the fact that despite their differences, there are areas of mutual interest," said Dr. Oluwaseun Tella, director of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburg's Institute for the Future of Knowledge.
"There's that kind of understanding, it seems between the Chinese leadership and the American leadership that conflict between the two countries ought to be avoided. That there are benefits to cooperation; that there needs to be a positive atmosphere; that there has to be an enhancement of trust and so one can hope that both parties are working assiduously to address those very major issues," said Aurel Braun, professor of International Relations and Political Science of University of Toronto.
"When we talk about China and the US. These are obviously two world powers that do influence a lot of the economic shifts that happen country or worldwide. So, it's important that obviously there is cooperation [and] coordination," said Natalie Kaunda, an economist and development expert in Zambia.
Beyond economic and diplomatic frameworks, former Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos emphasized the role of people-to-people exchanges in building lasting bilateral stability.
"I was very much impressed by the idea and proposal of President Xi that 100,000 young Americans would visit China. Exactly because if we want to build stable bilateral relations, there is now stable ground that people know other people, especially young ones," said Katrougalos.
Global observers welcome Xi-Trump summit, calling stable US-China ties essential for world peace
