The Ministry of Education and other government departments have jointly issued a plan to build world-class universities and world-class disciplines, which is of great significance to realize the Chinese Dream and increase China's soft power.

China's bid to create world-class universities started in the 1990s with the 211 Project. Launched in 1995, the project aimed to raise the educational standards of about 100 universities. It was followed by the 985 Project in 1998, which selected 39 universities from those included in 211 Project to be China's key universities to develop.

With sustained government investment and the efforts of the universities concerned, the two projects have made remarkable achievements in recent years, raising the international status of Chinese universities.