Over the years, China has continuously explored reforms in its education finance system, promoting educational equity and improving the efficiency of resource allocation, thereby accumulating rich institutional experience and practical achievements.

The China Institute for Educational Finance Research at Peking University (hereinafter referred to as CIEFR) has long been dedicated to the study of education finance in China. Drawing on more than two decades of theoretical exploration and empirical research, it has systematically synthesized its findings in the book Understanding Educational Finance in China: History, Policy and Practice.

This book provides a comprehensive account of China’s education finance system and its historical evolution. It covers macro-level topics such as an overview of China’s education finance system and development experience, the formulation and implementation mechanisms of the “4% of GDP Investment for education” policy, the central government transfer payment system for education, diversified education funding mechanisms, and the total social investment in education index.

The book also examines the reform and evolution of financing systems across different levels of education, including preschool, compulsory education, senior secondary education, vocational education, and higher education. In addition, the book presents in-depth analyses of key issues such as the Chinese model of student loans, financing for migrant children and special education, teacher compensation incentives, demand-driven basic research in universities, and the “project-based system” from an education finance perspective. Altogether, the book systematically demonstrates the logic and experience of China’s institutional innovation in education finance. We look forward to sharing these research findings with colleagues worldwide and contributing a Chinese perspective to global education governance.

Alongside the profound transformation of education finance, China’s science and technology finance has also evolved in a coordinated manner. The synergy between these two fields, along with its underlying theoretical significance, calls for more systematic and in-depth academic inquiry. Against this backdrop, CIEFR will host The 1st International Conference on Education Finance and Science & Technology Finance at Peking University in mid-November 2026.

The conference will invite distinguished scholars from countries including the United States, France, Russia, and Japan to engage in in-depth dialogue on the themes of “Reform of Education Finance Systems” and “Science & Technology Finance and Innovation Investment Mechanisms.”

1. China's Education Finance System: Evolution, Characteristics, and International Comparisons—An Institutional Analytical Framework Based on Understanding Educational Finance in China: History, Policy and Practice

2.Target Setting and Policy Implementation of Education Investment: The Formulation, Implementation, and Implications of the “4% of GDP Investment for Education” Policy

3. Higher Education Finance: Cost-sharing and Diversified Funding Mechanisms

4. Student Loans:  The Chinese Model and International Experience

5. Evolution of Education Finance Systems in Vocational Education, Lifelong Learning, and Workforce Transformation

6.Institutional Arrangements for Financing Integrated Development of Education, Science & Technology, and Talent Cultivation

7. Institutional Evolution of Financing Disadvantaged Children

Time: Mid-November 2026

Venue: Peking University, Beijing, China

Contact: Huang Zhen

Email: zhhuang@pku.edu.cn

CIEFR Website: http://ciefr.pku.edu.cn

We sincerely welcome scholars, policymakers and practitioners from home and abroad to attend this academic gathering!

China Institute for Educational Finance Research, Peking University

April 2026

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