Recently, the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences completed the calculation of the 2023 Education Strong Country Index. The results show that compared to 2022, China's global ranking has risen by 2 places, ranking 21st, making it the country with the fastest progress in 10 years. What signals has the Education Strong Country Index released? How to understand the development of education in China from the index? "Over the past year, the rise of the Education Strong Country Index has mainly been reflected in the following aspects: the advantage indicators have not fallen behind, the weakness indicators have improved, and the innovation indicators have broken through." Ma Xiaoqiang, director of the Institute of Education Statistics and Analysis at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, said. Building a strong education country is based on basic education. Ma Xiaoqiang told reporters that the quality of basic education in China has gained increasing international recognition and has repeatedly performed outstandingly in the International Student Assessment Program (PISA). The pass rate of students in subjects such as reading and mathematics reflected in the national compulsory education quality monitoring is basically equivalent to the average pass rate of OECD countries reflected in the PISA test, reaching the level of the top 15 countries overall. Meanwhile, the gross enrollment rate in high school has steadily increased over the past year, reaching 91.8% in 2023. Higher education is the leading force in building a strong education country. In terms of higher education, the most significant progress in China is the popularization of higher education and the indicators of educational level. In 2023, China's gross enrollment rate in higher education reached 60.2%, further narrowing the gap with the average level of the top 15 countries (above 86.9%); In the ranking of influential universities in the world, the number of universities selected for the top 200 in China has been increasing year by year. Ma Xiaoqiang also stated that from the Education Power Index, there have been two main achievements in serving high-quality development in education over the past year: firstly, the proportion of Chinese scientists among highly cited scientists in the world has been increasing year by year, ranking second in the world, only behind the United States. Secondly, the proportion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines among higher education graduates in China ranks among the top in various countries, consistently maintaining over 40%. The score of digital human capital in China is constantly improving. According to the analysis of digital human capital in about 50 countries worldwide in the extended version of the European Union Digital Economy and Society Index (I-DESI), China's ranking has improved in recent years, with the latest ranking being 15th. From the index, how will education develop in the future? Ma Xiaoqiang said that for every improvement in ranking in the future, more hardships and efforts will be needed. Only by filling in the gaps and identifying the key points of action can we promote the stable and far-reaching development of the construction of an education strong country. He suggested paying high attention to the impact of generative artificial intelligence. We should enhance the cognitive level of students and teachers towards generative artificial intelligence. By writing guidelines for the application of generative artificial intelligence, conducting experiential training and communication activities, we can help them understand the application scenarios, powerful capabilities, and potential risks of generative artificial intelligence, gain a sense of experience, eliminate unfamiliarity, and encourage and support teachers and students to become practical explorers of artificial intelligence education applications. Continuing to consolidate China's STEM education advantages is also one of the development directions that Ma Xiaoqiang is concerned about. He said that in the face of a new round of technological and industrial revolution, the competition for STEM talents between China and developed countries will become more intense, and the status of STEM education in China should be further strengthened. We can fully utilize the advantages of having a good source of students and a large scale in science and engineering majors in China, further strengthen science and engineering education, accelerate the promotion of new engineering education and excellent engineer education and training programs, and form a STEM education model with Chinese characteristics. Pay attention to the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents in science and engineering, cultivate national strategic talents and urgently needed talents in a targeted manner, and focus on the shortcomings of science and engineering to increase research funding support. (Lai Xin She)