The Effects of China’s Push for Education

The New York Times, JANUARY 21, 2013 7:01 PM

DEBATERS

• 

  Good for China, and the Rest of the World

  WANG HUIYAO, CENTER FOR CHINA AND GLOBALIZATION
  The investment in education will expand the middle class in China and will increase the consumption of goods and services from all over the world.
• 

  China Wasn’t Trying to Take On the U.S.

  ZHENG YONGNIAN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
  The huge investment in higher education began as an effort to stimulate domestic demand.
• 

  Only the Top Students Rival the West

  GERARD A. POSTIGLIONE, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
  The top-drawer schools are more competitive than ever, but the education system as a whole is not.
• 

  Luring Back the Chinese Who Study Abroad

  DAVID ZWEIG, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
  If China wants to bring back the best, it needs a fundamental reform of its academic and scientific institutions.
• 

  A Long To-Do List

  EDUARDO VELEZ BUSTILLO, FORMER WORLD BANK OFFICIAL
  Despite China’s need for higher education in order to transform its economy, the nation’s system still needs some improvements.

INTRODUCTION

Sim Chi Yin for The New York TimesStudents at Sanya College in the southern Hainan province of China.

The Chinese government is investing deeply in higher education, trying to create an educated work force to expand the economy beyond manufacturing.

Is China becoming more of a competitive challenge to the United States, Europe and Japan through its rapid expansion of education? Will the nation’s focus on technical fields be a strength or a weakness?

READ THE DISCUSSION »