China Bets on Expanding Leading Universities, Postgraduate Education, and STEM Fields
At the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin at HSE University, one of the distinguished speakers was Prof. Liguo Li of the School of Education at Tsinghua University. He spoke about changes in the structure of higher education in China in line with national strategic priorities, including a proposed 1.7–2-fold increase in the number of leading research universities.
Irina Abankina
Introducing the speaker, Prof. Irina Abankina of the HSE Institute of Education explained that Prof. Liguo Li heads the Centre for Educational Strategic Decision-Making and National Planning under the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, based at Tsinghua University in Beijing. ‘The centre’s recommendations, grounded in research findings, are used by the ministry to inform decision-making and reforms,’ she added.
Liguo Li noted that in 2000, China’s economy amounted to 12% of that of the United States; by 2010 it had reached 40%, and by 2025, 64%. GDP per capita has now reached around 12,000 US dollars, and it is expected to almost double by 2035. A key driver of this rapid development is education and science, which are particularly important given the country’s shortage of natural resources, including oil (80% of which is imported).
Liguo Li
As the speaker explained, the programme to transform China into a leading education power for 2024–2035 envisages the accelerated development of research universities. A total of 147 out of 3,100 universities have been included in the Double First-Class initiative aimed at enhancing international academic leadership. However, according to Prof. Li, their number and scale do not match the pace of socio-economic development or the needs of the population, including the growing number of school graduates. Regional disparities are evident: these institutions are concentrated in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and several other regions, while some provinces have only one such university—or none at all.
The central argument of Prof. Li’s presentation was the need to shift from expanding access to higher education towards strengthening its research and innovation capacity as a key condition for ensuring high-quality economic growth and technological sovereignty. The number of universities participating in the Double First-Class initiative is proposed to increase to 250–300, with their establishment encouraged by research consortia (both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have already founded their own universities), local authorities, and private entities (with existing examples of such initiatives).
Particular attention is to be paid to the development of postgraduate education. As Liguo Li reported, in 2015–2020 postgraduate students accounted for around 9% of the total student population in Chinese universities, compared to over 13% in India, 24% in OECD countries, and up to 33% in the EU. By 2035, the number of postgraduate students in China is expected to increase from the current 4 million to 7 million. At present, among the world’s top 20 economies, China surpasses only Brazil, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia in terms of the share of postgraduate enrolment among all higher education entrants.
The speaker also addressed the development of STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in Chinese universities. ‘The share of our graduates in these fields has long exceeded 40%, while in developed countries the average stands at 24%. Our annual output is greater than that of the United States, Japan, and Europe combined. This provides a substantial reserve of human capital for industrial development and modernisation,’ he emphasised.
Commenting on the presentation, Irina Abankina noted that reforms in higher education are easier to implement when there are established models to follow—drawing on external experience and well-functioning systems. However, in the absence of such models, as is currently the case for both China and Russia, ‘we must become innovators ourselves’ and ‘build an education system that responds to the challenges facing the economy and society.’ In this context, she argued, dialogue between researchers from the two countries could prove especially productive.
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