NTES National Curriculum Framework Library
Explore China's national curriculum architecture, including the 2022 compulsory-education curriculum, nine-year progression, subject curriculum standards, core competencies and senior-high curriculum pathways.
This NTES reference page separates compulsory education from the senior-high curriculum and examines curriculum standards, academic quality expectations, labour education, information technology and implementation.
Governance
National Curriculum
Compulsory Education
Nine-Year Integrated Design
Current Compulsory Framework
2022 Curriculum
Senior High
2017 Framework · 2020 Revision
Important curriculum distinction
Compulsory education currently follows the 2022 curriculum plan and subject standards across a nine-year integrated structure. General senior high school operates under its own national curriculum plan and subject standards, originally issued in 2017 and revised in 2020.
Education progression
Compulsory Education
Primary Stage
Primary education forms the first part of China's nine-year compulsory education system and develops foundational language, mathematics, scientific, moral, physical, artistic, technological and practical learning.
Chinese Language
Mathematics
Morality & Rule of Law
Science
Physical Education & Health
Arts
Labour Education
Information Technology
Foreign Languages
Compulsory Education
Lower Secondary Stage
Junior secondary education continues the nationally defined compulsory curriculum while deepening disciplinary learning, core competencies, scientific literacy, digital competence, citizenship and preparation for senior secondary pathways.
Chinese Language
Mathematics
Foreign Languages
Morality & Rule of Law
History
Geography
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Information Technology
Labour Education
Upper Secondary Education
Senior Secondary
General senior high school operates under a separate national curriculum plan and subject standards, combining common foundations with greater subject choice and preparation for higher education, employment and lifelong development.
Common Curriculum
Required Subjects
Selective Compulsory Learning
Elective Learning
Subject Core Competencies
Higher Education Preparation
2022 compulsory curriculum
The 2022 reform strengthened curriculum coherence, competency expectations, academic quality standards and connections between learning areas.
The Ministry of Education issued the 2022 compulsory-education curriculum plan and subject standards for implementation from autumn 2022.
Compulsory education is designed coherently across the full nine-year period, strengthening progression between primary and junior secondary stages.
Each curriculum area translates national educational aims into subject-specific core competency expectations covering values, character and key capabilities.
The 2022 standards include academic quality expectations intended to help teachers understand appropriate depth, breadth and achievement.
The framework strengthens connections within subjects, between subjects and across stages of education.
Curriculum content has been revised to respond to social development, technology, learner needs and contemporary educational priorities.
Curriculum areas
Supports moral development, civic responsibility, social understanding and knowledge of law and national values.
Develops language proficiency, reading, writing, communication, cultural understanding and literary learning.
Develops mathematical understanding, reasoning, problem solving, application and mathematical thinking.
Foreign-language education develops communication, language awareness, cultural understanding and wider learning capabilities.
Scientific learning develops inquiry, understanding of the natural world, scientific thinking and application.
Information technology has a clearer independent position within the compulsory curriculum and supports digital literacy and computational understanding.
Supports physical development, health, fitness, participation and healthy lifestyles.
Arts education develops aesthetic understanding, creativity, cultural participation and expression.
Labour education is established as an independent curriculum area and develops practical competence, responsibility and understanding of work.
Core competency lens
The 2022 standards connect curriculum content with values, character and key capabilities expected of learners.
Curriculum standards connect subject learning with broader educational values and learner development.
Students are expected to develop dispositions and personal qualities required for responsible learning and participation.
Subject learning develops transferable abilities such as reasoning, inquiry, communication, creativity and practical application.
Individual subject standards define competencies specific to disciplinary knowledge and ways of thinking.
Students are expected to use learning in increasingly authentic, practical and interdisciplinary situations.
Competency expectations develop progressively through the nine-year compulsory-education curriculum.
Labour education
The 2022 compulsory curriculum establishes labour education as an independent curriculum area.
Learners participate in practical activities connected with daily life, productive work and wider social responsibility.
Labour education is intended to develop positive attitudes toward work and practical contribution.
Activities can support independence, practical competence, responsibility and everyday problem solving.
Information technology
Information-technology learning supports students in understanding and using digital systems responsibly and effectively.
Learners develop structured problem-solving approaches associated with computing and digital technologies.
Students learn to access, evaluate, process and use information within digital environments.
Curriculum implementation can support responsible, ethical and safe use of digital technologies.
Curriculum connections
Curriculum content is organised to strengthen relationships between concepts and knowledge within each subject.
The 2022 curriculum encourages stronger connections between different curriculum areas.
Learning should provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge in realistic and practical contexts.
Schools can use interdisciplinary activities and projects to help students combine learning from multiple curriculum areas.
Academic quality standards
Academic quality standards describe expected performance based on curriculum content and core competency development.
They help teachers understand the appropriate depth and breadth of curriculum implementation.
Assessment should reflect curriculum objectives and the quality expectations established within subject standards.
Schools can use achievement evidence to review curriculum implementation and identify areas requiring improvement.
General senior high school
Senior-high education follows a separate curriculum plan designed to combine common foundations with diversified learning and progression.
General senior high school follows the national curriculum plan and subject standards originally issued in 2017.
The Ministry revised the senior-high curriculum plan and relevant subject standards in 2020.
Senior-high education maintains a national common foundation while allowing students greater curriculum choice.
The curriculum structure includes required and selective-compulsory components to support different learning and examination pathways.
Elective courses provide additional opportunities for learner interests, specialisation and future progression.
Subject standards identify disciplinary core competencies and connect curriculum with comprehensive learner development.
School implementation
China provides a useful comparison for curriculum coherence, competency-based standards, interdisciplinary connections, digital learning, practical education and national quality expectations.
Schools should map progression coherently from primary through junior secondary rather than treating year groups as isolated programmes.
Planning should connect curriculum content with the competency expectations defined within each subject standard.
Teachers need shared understanding of expected quality levels and the evidence used to judge student achievement.
Curriculum leaders can identify meaningful opportunities to connect knowledge across subjects and practical contexts.
Schools need coherent practical provision rather than treating labour education as an occasional standalone activity.
Information technology and digital literacy should be linked with wider learning, responsible technology use and future capabilities.
Classroom and school assessment should reflect curriculum objectives, subject competencies and academic quality expectations.
School leaders should evaluate how effectively national curriculum requirements are translated into teaching, learner experience and outcomes.
Framework overview
| Stage | Structure | Curriculum Framework | Main Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Education | Part of nine-year compulsory education | National compulsory curriculum and subject standards | Foundational knowledge, competencies, practical learning and holistic development |
| Junior Secondary | Continuation of nine-year compulsory education | National compulsory curriculum and subject standards | Deeper disciplinary learning, competencies, digital literacy and progression |
| General Senior High | Post-compulsory upper-secondary education | 2017 national curriculum plan and subject standards, revised in 2020 | Common foundations, subject choice, core competencies and higher-education progression |
Official Chinese resources
Official Chinese curriculum documents are primarily published in Chinese. Schools and researchers should consult the Ministry of Education's current documents when making formal curriculum decisions.
Official Ministry of Education information on the Compulsory Education Curriculum Plan and 16 subject curriculum standards issued in 2022.
Explore 2022 CurriculumOfficial Ministry notice issuing the General Senior High School Curriculum Plan and Subject Curriculum Standards, 2017 edition revised in 2020.
Explore Senior High CurriculumOfficial Ministry notice for the General Senior High School Curriculum Plan and subject standards issued in 2017.
Explore 2017 FrameworkOfficial Ministry guidance on implementation of the new senior-high curriculum and teaching materials.
Explore Implementation GuidanceChina's curriculum operates within its own national governance, cultural, assessment and education system. International benchmarking should therefore examine curriculum architecture and implementation principles rather than assume that individual policies can be transferred directly to another jurisdiction.
NT Education Solutions is an independent education provider and is not affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.
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China provides a valuable comparison for national curriculum coherence, competency development, academic quality standards, digital learning, practical education and progression across compulsory and senior-secondary education.