China's Five-Year Plan (FYP) system is formulated to make economic and social development plans over the coming five years. As the year 2021 is coming, which starts the next five years, China is drafting its 14th FYP (2021-2025). And promoting the development of online education has been included.

Last year, two crucial documents have been unveiled successively by the Chinese government regarding the online education industry. One is for standardizing after-school online training, whereas the other is for stimulating online education growth, which was different from the previous strict scrutiny and aimed to layout more favorable online education measures in a broader sense.

Also spurred by the national distance learning amid the COVID-19 crisis, online education in China has gained the unprecedented spotlight in FYP this time, as it is possible to provide equitable and quality education, regarded as the means of achieving quality growth as well as ends in terms of ensuring developmental opportunities and well-being of the Chinese people. 

Being the key strategy to support China's modernization as a whole, accelerated educational modernization is the goal of the next five years' plan. The government will continue the ten priority actions mapped out in the Education 2035 with a new ideology, new ethos, and new strategies.

Besides, the cultivation of ethics and morals has been noted as a fundamental task of educational development, underpinning the importance of beliefs, values, and attitudes. Quality will also be the hallmark of educational development over the next five years. It will shift away from access and toward quality learning opportunities for all as China has universalized basic education and moves to achieve mass higher education. 

And in line with supply-side structural reforms, structural educational reforms will also be undertaken towards the goal of a networked, digitalized education system that could provide customized services to meet the diversified needs of lifelong learning as well as the demand for economic and social development. 

More resources will be invested for vocational education, including deepening the integration between industry and education, promoting school-enterprise cooperation, and exploring apprenticeship with Chinese characteristics. 

Responding actively to low fertility and rapid aging, a long-term population development strategy will be carried out, for instance, developing a universal childcare service system, as well as reducing the cost of childbirth, parenting, and education. Plus, it is necessary to drive the silver economy.