China boosts science funding, expands elite universities

China has pledged a 10% boost in science funding and renewed support for its flagship elite university programme, signalling an even stronger expectation that higher education institutions will drive the country’s technological ambitions and innovation-led development.

The announcements emerged from this year’s Two Sessions, the annual gatherings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference which concluded in Beijing on Wednesday 11 March.

The week-long meetings have set policy priorities for the year ahead, where the central government pledged a roughly 10% increase in spending on science, underscoring Beijing’s continued focus on what it calls technological self-reliance. In the government work report this year, “innovation” and “reform” were among the most frequently used terms, appearing 75 times in total.

Budget figures released alongside the meetings show that China will allocate about CNY426 billion (US$62 billion) in central government funding for science and technology development in 2026 – a roughly 10% increase on the previous year – while funding for basic research will receive a particularly strong 16.3% increase.

Overall, fiscal spending on science and technology nationwide (central and local governments) will reach roughly CNY1.3 trillion across all levels of government this year – a 7.1% rise from 2025.

The boost comes even as the government tightens spending in many other areas. Administrative expenses – including official overseas visits, government vehicles, hospitality and conference costs – are set to be cut by between 7% and 10%, freeing up fiscal resources as Beijing prioritises investment elsewhere.

Expectations for higher education

During the meetings, policymakers have signalled a stronger expectation that universities should play a central role in generating “original innovation”, a reference to breakthrough discoveries and pioneering technological advances.

Speaking on the sideline of the meetings, Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng described higher education as “the most valuable strategic resource for China’s modernisation”.

“It is the main force of basic research, the main breeding ground of talent and the main source of major scientific and technological breakthroughs,” he said.

Among the recent major achievements he cited were international research initiatives such as the Deep Time Digital Earth project and advances in fields ranging from quantum computing to brain-computer interfaces.

In the next five years, universities must shift “from focusing on discipline development to serving the national mission”, Huai urged, using language that analysts say reflects a more explicit policy framing than 2025.

“One of the key signals from this year’s Two Sessions is that higher education is being seen even more clearly as a strategic resource for national development, particularly in science, technology, and talent development,” said Futao Huang, professor at the Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University.

Among the measures to reinforce this role of universities, the minister said the government will continue to fast-track the establishment of programmes in strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits and advanced manufacturing.

By streamlining approval procedures, many newly approved programmes can already begin recruiting students within the same year they are authorised, significantly shortening the time between programme design and implementation, Huai noted.

Expansion of Double First Class policy

To further advance this agenda, elite universities are expected to play a more central role, as the top education official also outlined plans to further expand the Double First Class Initiative, China’s flagship policy aimed at building world-class universities and disciplines.

Launched in 2017, the initiative currently supports nearly 150 universities and around 500 priority disciplines. The programme is set to enter a new phase in 2026, and Huai said the education ministry is developing updated standards that will place greater emphasis on research-intensive institutions.

According to Huai, top universities participating in the scheme have increased enrolment by about 38,000 students over the past two years.

The expansion forms part of a broader strategy to achieve a measured increase in high-quality undergraduate education, identified by Beijing as a key metric in its plan to build China into a global education powerhouse by 2035. It comes at a time when the country’s gross enrolment rate in higher education has surpassed 60%, having more than doubled since 2012.

Decline in overseas study

The strengthening of domestic programmes also comes at a time when many Chinese students are increasingly choosing to pursue higher qualifications at home amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.

Last week, Tsinghua University released its latest employment data, showing that only 8.5% of the university’s 2025 graduates chose to pursue further study overseas, down from 9.6% in 2024. Among them, 17.3% of undergraduates went abroad for postgraduate study, compared with just 6.6% of masters graduates.

Huang said improvements in domestic research capacity could help retain top talents who might previously have chosen to study overseas.

“If top domestic universities can provide stronger programmes, better research opportunities and clearer career pathways within China’s innovation ecosystem, some students may feel less need to go overseas for advanced study,” he said.

At the same time, the continued growth of transnational education partnerships may also be providing students with new opportunities to gain international exposure without leaving China.

According to figures revealed during the Two Sessions, 350,000 university places were added via more than 540 new cooperative institutions and programmes between the Chinese mainland and overseas partners at the undergraduate level and above, established over the past two years.

“Chinese students are still very interested in international experience, and international academic exchange remains important,” Huang said. “Rather than replacing overseas study, the [government’s] policy may be trying to strengthen domestic capacity while keeping international engagement open.”