Improving education has been one of China's priorities in the past 5 years. The efforts include making universities and courses world-class, increasing teachers' pay, and providing some 430 million grants in financial aid to students in need. China's education minister discussed the sector's achievements and future plans at a press conference on Thursday. Our reporter Liu Yang tells us more.

Minister Chen Baosheng outlined two big challenges facing China’s education sector - accelerating modernized education, and providing high-quality education to meet people's demand. There’s also the need to address the unbalanced and inadequate development of education in China, so that all children can enjoy good and fair education. The minister says cultivating students to be more creative is important for China's future.

CHEN BAOSHENG EDUCATION MINISTER "We will innovate in training talent to meet the demands of the era. This is an era of informatization, globalization, and a new scientific and technical revolution. The rise of artificial intelligence has also come under the spotlight. All these require us to reform and innovate our talent training mode."

Minister Chen said more public kindergartens will be built and inclusive private kindergartens set up to ensure children get better and cheaper preschool education. He also stressed the importance of international cooperation.

CHEN BAOSHENG EDUCATION MINISTER "Through collaboration, we can learn from others and be able to tackle other challenges. It will also be mutually beneficial. Chinese children can enjoy high-quality education in China and enjoy its benefits, and take classes offered by other countries. Our foreign partners can work with and learn from each other, better understand Chinese culture, and cultivate good talent from both sides."

The minister also explained the challenges that lie ahead. For instance, despite the free nine-year compulsory education for all rural students, there's still a long way to go before students in rural areas could get an education of the same quality as that enjoyed by their urban counterparts.

LIU YANG BEIJING "China has shown its commitment to educational development. In the past 5 years, conditions in rural schools providing compulsory education were improved. China's nutrition plan benefited more than 36 million students, and the number of students from rural areas enrolled in key universities through special programs grew from 10 thousand to 100 thousand. To help China's future generations, the government has vowed to spend more on education. LIU YANG, CGTN, BEIJING"