China's State Council briefing sets "15th Five-Year" higher education reform: 76,000 more Double First-Class undergraduate seats, stronger AI literacy and ethics oversight

On the morning of September 23, 2026, China's State Council Information Office held a briefing in its "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" series, where Vice Ministers of Education Du Jiangfeng and Wang Guangyan presented plans for implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan and accelerating building an education powerhouse. Guo Peng, director of the Ministry of Education's Development Planning Department, said that from 2027 to 2030, undergraduate enrollment at Double First-Class universities will expand by another 76,000. The briefing also called for categorized reform of universities, building national interdisciplinary centers, deepening science-education and industry-education collaboration, and strengthening teachers' and students' AI literacy along with AI ethics rules and safety oversight.

The briefing advances scale, structure, quality and capacity in higher education at the same time. Its call to strengthen teacher and student AI literacy and AI ethics and safety oversight means AI's entry into university teaching, research and governance now carries explicit policy requirements rather than being left to individual institutions. For universities, AI literacy and ethics oversight may affect curriculum design, teacher training and platform procurement; for AI education product providers, the National Smart Education Platform and digital technology deployment in teaching, research and governance will change market access and compliance requirements. The briefing did not publish specific AI literacy standards, assessment methods, implementation timelines or funding arrangements, and the 76,000-seat expansion was given only as a total without annual, institutional or disciplinary breakdowns. Universities must implement AI literacy and ethics and safety oversight for teachers and students in curricula, training and governance, though specific standards and timelines have not been published. The National Smart Education Platform and digital technology deployment in teaching, research and governance will shape universities' procurement direction and compliance thresholds for AI education products and services.