China will expand enrollment of graduate students and further education for junior college students this year, which is expected to increase by 189,000 and 322,000, respectively, said Weng Tiehui, Vice Minister of China's Education Ministry at a press conference on Friday.

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China has 12,000 master's degree awarding centers, with more than 2,000 of the centers established in recent years, according to Weng.

To ensure the quality of graduate education, the expansion will take into consideration the universities' capacity as well as majors required by national support and the needs of economic and social development.

Weng said that the expansion of enrollment will support areas that serve the national strategy and society’s livelihood. Among them, the expanded enrollment for master's degree programs will tilt toward majors

including clinical medicine, public health, integrated circuits and artificial intelligence.

The increased admission of junior college students will target vocational and application-oriented education, including preventive medicine, emergency management, elderly service management and e-commerce. 

(Compiled by Huang Dongpeng)