Xi Sends Teachers’ Day Greetings on 42nd Observance
President Xi Jinping extended festive congratulations and sincere greetings to teachers and educators across China on the occasion of the 42nd Teachers’ Day, honoring their contributions to national development and calling for a stronger teaching workforce as the country pursues its goal of becoming an “education strong nation.”
The message, issued on behalf of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was released via Xinhua’s Beijing wire on September 9 and published on the front page of the People’s Daily on September 10, 2026.
A Message Tied to National Strategy
Xi, who serves as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, State President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, noted that teachers nationwide have “earnestly implemented the Party’s education policy, worked diligently in classrooms and imparted knowledge, making important contributions to the cause of the Party and the country.”
Looking ahead, he urged educators to remember their original mission of “educating for the Party and the country” and to fulfill the fundamental task of “fostering virtue and nurturing people,” according to the Xinhua report.
Xi also called on teachers to vigorously carry forward the “educator’s spirit,” cultivate noble teaching ethics and improve their professional competence, so as to train “a new generation capable of shouldering the great task of national rejuvenation.” He stressed that Party committees and governments at all levels should value and strengthen the teaching workforce and foster a society-wide atmosphere of respecting teachers and valuing education.
The ‘Educator’s Spirit’ and a Decade of Policy
The greeting is a fixture of China’s political calendar, but its framing reflects a broader, decade-long push on teacher-work policy. Xi first articulated the “Chinese unique educator’s spirit” in a September 2023 letter to outstanding teachers, and the concept was later enshrined in a 2024 CPC Central Committee and State Council document on building a high-quality professional teaching workforce.
The message also builds on earlier doctrines, including Xi’s 2014 “Four Haves” standard for good teachers — ideals, moral integrity, solid knowledge and a benevolent heart — and his 2018 call at the National Education Conference for education investment to tilt toward teachers. Xi has repeatedly described teachers as “the foundation of teaching and the source of invigorating education.”
A Workforce of 18.7 Million
As of 2025, China had more than 18.7 million full-time teachers, supporting the world’s largest education system, according to the Xinhua feature. The greeting comes in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, which calls for implementing a “teacher-education capacity improvement project.”
The message drew responses from educators and officials nationwide. Zhang Huajian, a special-post teacher in Anhui province, said he felt “very warm and encouraged” by the greeting, noting that Xi had also written to special-post teachers the previous year. Wang Lei, Director of the Teacher Work Department at the Ministry of Education, pledged to “build a high-quality teacher development system” and provide “strong support for building an education strong nation,” according to a Science and Technology Daily roundup.
In a special report published by the People’s Daily, five classrooms were profiled to illustrate the changing face of Chinese education — from a dual-teacher program bringing Beijing resources to Xiong’an, to a rural “smart classroom” in Yan’an, an AI archaeology course at Fudan University, and vocational training in Gansu. Ying Hua, principal of Shanghai Datong Middle School, said teachers must “uphold the unity of teaching and nurturing.”
What to Watch
The greeting underscores education’s central place in China’s development agenda as the country seeks to align its education system with national strategic goals, including technological self-reliance and rural revitalization. Key to watch will be how the 15th Five-Year Plan’s teacher-education provisions translate into concrete funding and how the push for AI-enabled and digital teaching reshapes classrooms in the years ahead.
China’s Teachers’ Day has been observed annually on September 10 since the holiday was restored in 1985. The 2026 observance marks the 42nd edition.