Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Nov 26, 1981, the State Council, China's Cabinet, approved the list of the country's first batch of universities offering master's and doctoral programs.

In 1993, the central authorities issued guidelines for the development and reform of the country's education sector, outlining a strategy for further reform of the higher education system. It identified higher education as being linked to China's competitive position in the world.

Since then, China has been investing heavily in the higher education system, and more people than ever before are completing doctoral degrees.

An item from Aug 5, 1994, in China Daily, showed Jiang Nanhua (right) working in the laboratory under the supervision of his professor, Liang Xu. Jiang had obtained a doctorate in genetics at Guangxi Medical University. He was the first locally trained PhD holder in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Now the country is the top annual producer of PhDs worldwide, having passed the United States in 2008.

In 1983, only 18 Chinese students got doctoral degrees nationwide after postgraduate programs resumed in 1978. In recent decades, the number has seen exceptional growth. Since 2014, there have been about 55,000 doctoral graduates every year, according to the Ministry of Education.

To better cultivate high-level talent in advanced technology, Westlake University, China's first private university, was established in Zhejiang province last year. It marked a significant step in efforts to reform the higher-education sector and foster innovation.

The university aims to rival its international counterparts, such as Rockefeller University and the California Institute of Technology.