Nation seeks to elevate its higher education system

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has proposed moderately expanding the scope of the "double first-class" initiative to increase the supply of high-quality higher education resources, according to a report submitted on Monday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Officially launched by the Chinese government in 2015 as a major national strategy to enhance the global competitiveness of its higher education system, the "double first-class" initiative aims to cultivate a group of world-class universities and first-class academic disciplines by the mid-21st century. Under a dynamic selection process, the current second phase, running from 2022 to 2027, designates 147 universities for development.

Institutions included in the initiative have expanded undergraduate enrollment and now train more than 50 percent of the nation's master's students and nearly 80 percent of doctoral students, the report said.