Xi Jinping targets education in China’s drive for tech self-reliance
- Education is an important support for achieving greater science and tech self-reliance and can enhance China’s soft power, president says
- The pandemic and deteriorating China-US relations prompted a 97 per cent drop in American university students in China in 2020-21 from about 12,000 in 2018-19
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Calling for faster progress in the area, Xi said education was a “strategic precursor” to building a modern China and an important support for achieving greater science and tech self-reliance.
He stressed the importance of the ideology work in education to ensure students always “listen to the party”.
“[We must] focus on strengthening the education of socialist core values, guide students to establish firm ideals and beliefs, always listen to the party and follow the party, and devote themselves to the country and the people,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that China needed to step up “management” of its textbooks, so Beijing could “firmly grip” the correct political direction and values in its education system.
Xi pushed for greater precision when developing the higher education sector.
