Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang called for strengthening the Communist Party’s oversight of textbook development, saying schools must “firmly grasp the correct political direction and value orientation,” according to state broadcaster Xinhua. Ding made the remarks at a national textbook conference in Beijing on September 8.
Ding said China should deepen its grasp of education’s “political, people-oriented, and strategic attributes” and accelerate building a textbook system with “Chinese characteristics.” He called for using “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” to shape students’ values, and for stricter management of textbook editing, review, and selection.
Separately, the Party mouthpiece People’s Daily ran a front-page article the previous day describing textbooks as a matter of “state authority” supporting China’s push to become an “education powerhouse.” According to the article, unified textbooks for morals and rule of law, Chinese language, and history now cover all school levels nationwide, with a revision process begun in 2022 completed this fall. A student reader based on Xi’s ideology has been used nationwide since 2021, purportedly fostering student “identification with and confidence in” Communist Party rule.
The article noted a new section, “the CCP as the mainstay of the war of resistance,” was added to a history-textbook chapter on the victory over Japan. It also said a university-level textbook on “socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics,” incorporating Xi’s policy concepts, has been piloted at more than 40 universities since spring 2025. China’s education ministry reportedly aims to complete a self-directed textbook system covering 29 academic disciplines by 2030, alongside a separate biology-textbook initiative involving over 50 academicians.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), September 8, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202609080336.aspx