China's education overhaul yields lessons, partnerships and talent flows that benefit the global economy
Just northwest of Shanghai, a small city called Taicang tells a big story. Home to more than 560 German-funded enterprises, it saw the opening of China's first Sino-German Dual-System Vocational Education Industrial Park in May 2024 — a facility designed to train up to 5,000 skilled workers a year under the German apprenticeship model. Behind it lies a deeper architecture: Tongji University's Institute of Vocational and Technical Education, running since the 1990s, has helped shape China's own model of dual vocational education.
Education is a holistic undertaking that extends to individuals, families, society, the economy and politics, covering a range of themes including health, labor, prosperity, fulfilling lives, deep knowledge about human nature and the ways of the world. Although education affects virtually everyone existentially, it is not an easy field to popularize. Still, it holds the key to the future, both in China and the world.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, China is recalibrating its education system to meet the demands of rapidly changing demographics, a transforming labor market and an economy pivoting toward high-quality growth. The 2024-35 master plan on building China into a leading country in education, jointly issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, is the most ambitious blueprint to date. It does not merely tweak curricula but delicately redefines education for the future: cultivating not just degree holders, but skilled workers, innovative engineers and lifelong learners capable of sustaining China's competitiveness.
At the heart of the reform is a fundamental rebalancing. For decades, Chinese society has prioritized academic university degrees over vocational training. The 2022 revision of the Vocational Education Law, which establishes vocational qualifications as an educational type of equal importance to general education, began to shift this mindset. The master plan deepens that shift: by 2035, vocational education will be fully integrated into a unified national qualification framework, with pathways linking technical colleges, universities and graduate programs.
This is not merely a domestic adjustment. It speaks directly to China's economic trajectory. As the country moves up the value chain — from assembly to design, and from manufacturing to innovation — it needs a workforce that combines theoretical depth with practical mastery. Germany, with its centuries-old tradition of the Meister, a master with expert knowledge in a specialized field, and its modern dual-training system, offers a proven model.
But rather than simple transplantation, China is confident in its ability to adapt relevant experience. Taicang Park, jointly operated with German partners such as the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad and industry associations, is a testing ground for a Chinese version of the dual system — one that can scale across provinces and sectors.
Notably, the connection runs deeper than policy transfer. The two great pillars of Eastern and Western civilizations — China and Greece — found a natural ally in Germany. Historically, Germany was an ardent student of both classical Greek and Chinese cultures, culminating in the modern comprehensive university shaped by the Enlightenment spirit of Leibniz, Goethe, Schiller and Kant. German educational thinkers, from the tradition of German philosopher and educational reformer Wilhelm von Humboldt to the architects of the dual-training system, partly drew inspiration from Confucian ideals of moral cultivation and the unity of theory and practice. The cultural ground of this tradition holds to this day. Chinese and European philosophies share deep humanistic knowledge that provides fertile ground for mutual learning.
International cooperation is embedded in the reform's blueprint. The Chongqing Initiative, unveiled at the third Global Forum on Mutual Learning among Civilizations co-hosted by China, Greece and UNESCO in April this year, calls on universities worldwide to advance educational cooperation and civilizational exchanges. The initiative proposes concrete actions: joint degree programs between Chinese and European universities, mutual recognition of academic credits and vocational qualifications, digital education platforms open to partner countries, and annual forums for education ministers and university presidents to align curricula with global labor market needs. The direction is clear: China sees education not as a zero-sum competition, but as part of the shared infrastructure for global stability.
That vision carries particular weight at a time when many Western countries are retreating from public investment in education. Germany, despite its heritage of Humboldtian humanism, has struggled to maintain coherence in its own system, delegating education largely to various state-level authorities. China's governance framework enables the strategic allocation of resources for education reform. The master plan mandates, for instance, two hours of daily physical activity in schools, embeds aesthetic and labor education into the curriculum, and ties teacher training to national quality standards. These are measurable targets backed by fiscal commitments.
None of this implies that China's path is frictionless. The cultural preference for academic degrees remains deeply entrenched. Rural schools often lag behind urban ones in digital infrastructure. And the sheer scale of the system — serving hundreds of millions of students — makes uniform implementation a challenge. The master plan acknowledges these gaps. Its emphasis on "high-quality education for all" is both a promise and a pressure point.
Yet the direction is unmistakable. By 2035, China aims to rank among the world's best in basic education quality, fully form a learning society and establish itself as a globally recognized center for education. These goals are not ends in themselves. They are instruments for something larger: raising the quality of the labor force, boosting total factor productivity and sustaining the economic transformation that will define China's next decade.
The world has a stake in this effort. Demographic decline, technological disruption and rising inequality are not uniquely Chinese problems. If China succeeds in building a more practical, inclusive and internationally connected education system, it will generate lessons, partnerships and talent flows that benefit the entire global economy.
The author is a professor at the Foreign Language Studies College, Hunan Normal University, an associate professor at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, a philosopher and a sinologist.
The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.
