China to Expand "Double First-Class" University Undergraduate Enrollment by 76,000

China's Ministry of Education announced plans to expand undergraduate enrollment at top-tier "Double First-Class" universities by 76,000 students between 2027 and 2030. The expansion specifically targets strategic and emerging fields, including artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, biomedicine, and new energy. This policy aims to align higher education capacity with critical national technological priorities and fill talent shortages in key high-tech sectors. By increasing elite undergraduate capacity, China seeks to bolster its long-term domestic innovation capabilities amidst escalating global technology competition. Alongside student expansion, the government will fund campus construction, laboratories, and student amenities through central budget investments and ultra-long-term special treasury bonds. The initiative aligns with broader 15th Five-Year Plan goals, which also call for building around 200 high-level applied undergraduate institutions and 100 national city-level industry-education unions.