The English version of Education for 1.3 Billion, a book on 10 years of education reform and development of China by former Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing, was first launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 7 for global publication. The book is jointly published by Britain-based Pearson Education and China's Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

The book is a record of important events in China's education reform and development in recent 10 years, including the promotion of nine-year compulsory education, successful implementation of formal school education for 300 million students and the doubled and redoubled college enrollment.

The English version of this book will help global readers to better understand education development in China, as well as the role of education in the country's modernization process, publishers said. Meanwhile, the book, through close cooperation between noted publishing houses and wide publishing channels, is expected to evoke huge repercussions among readers at home and abroad.

The launching ceremony was attended by vice publicity minister Li Dongsheng, Chinese ambassador to Germany Ma Canrong, German education officials as well as persons in charge of the two publishing houses.

Li Lanqing, who had served as Vice Premier of the State Council for two terms, was in charge of national education work for as long as 10 years. After retiring from official posts, he recalled to reporter how a series of important education policies were made and summed up experience in education work in the past 10 years. His recollections and experience was made a book, whose Chinese version had been published at last yearend by the People's Education Press.

By People's Daily Online