1. A number of bachelors, masters and doctors have been trained in domestic institutions independently and a group of qualified high-level personnel have been transferred for the modernization construction in China. We have awarded since the implementation of the Regulations 43,000 Doctoral Degrees, 430,000 Master's Degrees, and about 4,600,000 Bachelor's Degrees. The number of Doctoral Degrees awarded to persons of the equivalent educational levels has reached 578 and the number of Master's Degrees awarded to persons of the equivalent educational levels has reached 21,599£®The conferred degrees cover Philosophy, Economics, Law, Education, Literature, History, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Agronomy, Medicine, and Military Science. There was a total enrollment of 199,000 postgraduates of which 45,000 enrolled in doctoral programs by the end of August, 1998. The ratio of enrollment of undergraduates and graduates stands at 11£º1 in 1998£® The total number of graduates will be over 200,000 by 2000.

The development of degree and graduate education in China has fundamentally changed the structure of its higher education. It substantiates various teaching forces and education conditions. It contributes a lot to the establishment of a characteristic, independent and complete higher education system. The tertiary levels of education provided by short-cycle courses or schools, undergraduate courses, and postgraduate programs promote and adjust each other, leading to a new face of Chinese higher education, which is a big leap in the history of Chinese higher education. In 1997,the number of the teachers with graduate degrees in the higher education institutions was 114,000£® The proportion has increased from 7£¥ in 1984 to 28£¥ in 1997. Postgraduates, especially doctoral students have been an indispensable and most active new force in the field of science and technology.

2. A system of degree conferment encompassing all disciplines and specialties and the guarantee of degree quality has taken shape due to adhering to the standards.
With the policy of "adherence to standards, strict requirement, guarantee of quality, and justice", we have examined and verified Master's and Doctoral degree conferring units and their disciplines and specialties for seven times in China. Now, there are 323 units which can offer Doctoral degrees, of which 276 units are higher education institutions, and l827 doctoral programs, of which 1427 programs are in higher education institutions. There are 685 institutions which can offer Master's Degrees, of which 539 are universities and colleges, and 8575 master-level programs, of which 7119 are in universitis and colleges. There are 584 regular higher education institutions and 81 military higher education institutions that are authorized to confer Bachelor's Degree. since 1996, the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council has expanded the scope of degree conferment from the second grade disciplines to some first grade disciplines with a high academic level, strong comprehensive education forces, well-trained postgraduates in some qualified Master's and Doctoral degree conferring units in the process of evaluating the first grade disciplines. At present, the number of the units whose first grade disciplines can confer doctoral degree has reached 134, of which 103 are higher education institutions. The number of the first grade disciplines which can offer doctoral programs has reached 383 of which 331 are of higher education institutions.

3. Measures have been taken to construct training bases for high-leved personnel, which can not only be teaching centers, but also research centers.

Master-level postgraduates have been admitted and trained in all the 382 disciplines and specialties mentioned in the Catalog of Disciplines and Specialties of Conferring Doctor's Degree and Master's Degree and of Postgraduates Training£® All the relevant commissions and departments of the Central Government, provinces and cities have taken measures to strengthen the construction of the authorized specialties in order to build up training bases for high-level personnel£® In 1987, pro-State Education Commission selected 416 disciplines designated as priorities and given greater support from all the doctoral degree conferring disciplines and specialties in the country's higher education institutions. 300 Master's and doctoral degree conferring disciplines and specialties have been designated as key ones since "Project 211" was first implemented in 1994£® In 1995,33 higher education institutions including Beijing University were approved formally to form graduate schools after long terms of experiment£® It was in the sight of mustering manpower, material and financial resources to support a group of key training bases for postgraduates, to promote the development of teaching research, and to accumulate experiences to strengthen the leadership and management and of graduate education. Thus the overall promotion of quality and profits of domestic graduate education has been spurned on. We are making efforts to keep a team of high-level and capable forces of science, research and teaching in the field of basic disciplines including natural sciences and social sciences. We are trying to form some comparatively centralized training bases. We are working hard on the training of basic research personnel to represent the country's level£® At the same time, the training of practical and compound personnel in the feild of modernization construction and practical disciplines shall be speeded to meet the need of the progress of socialist market economy. For the time being, a network of training bases encompassing basically all branches of learning, powerful supervisors and sturdy research techniques has been established.

4. Remarkable achievements have made in the international exchange and cooperation in degree and graduate education.

In 1988, the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council promulgated the Provisional Regulations on conferring honorable Doctor's Degrees to Foreigners£® 80 persons abroad had been conferred the honorable Doctor's Degrees by April, 1999£®The conferment of the honorable doctoral degree has promoted the international and regional exchange and cooperation in Chinese education, science and technology, culture and sports. It has also played a positive role in the progress of Chinese education and foreign affairs.

The Regulations on Conferring Chinese Degrees to International Students in Higher Education Institutions was adopted at the l0th meeting of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council£® More than 330 institutions in the country admit international students from over 150 countries and regions all over the world. 4569 International students are supported by Chinese government's scholarship £¨doctoral students account for 4£®9£¥£» master-level students account for 14£®5£¥£» undergraduates account for 33£¥£©and 39035 are self-supported students £¨doctoral students account for 2£¥£» master-level students account for 4£®6£¥£» undergraduates account for 28£¥£©.

The General Office of the Academic Degree Committee Of the State Council has continuously evaluated and approved some cooperative education programs between China and foreign countries. These programs have been authorized to confer degrees in Hongkong and abroad based on some regulations of the country sine l995 in order to promote the teaching levels of the relevant disciplines and to meet the need of the high-level personnel in the society. 30-odd such programs have been approved by June, 1999.

The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council and it Office, as the state-level executive agency of the Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees of Higher Education in Asia and Pacific Regions, takes on some relevant works. China has signed bilateral agreements with 10 countries including Russia on mutual recognition of qualifications of higher education, diplomas and degrees. As a result of strict examination, evaluation and management that have been established and implemented, the academic levels of degrees are rather high in China, wining favorable comments from the international communities.