Are Chinese students learning English just to ‘tell China’s story’?

For generations of Chinese schoolchildren, English textbooks offered a glimpse of an unfamiliar world, from London’s Tower Bridge and Big Ben to American school life and Halloween traditions.

Today, students opening an English textbook are more likely to encounter passages on late Qing dynasty (1644-1912) thinker Liang Qichao, the Dragon Boat Festival and China’s overseas aid projects.

These changes are part of a nationwide overhaul of China’s primary and middle-school textbooks, which have shifted their focus towards Chinese culture and “telling China’s story” of national achievements, sparking debate over the purpose of English education in China.

The revised textbooks – which have been introduced in stages since 2024 and were fully rolled out at the start of this year’s autumn semester – have dropped much of the content on foreign cultures found in older editions as Beijing seeks to align education more closely with national priorities, including strengthening patriotism and boosting China’s image overseas.

The changes have been praised by some parents and teachers who argue they will boost students’ cultural confidence, while others worry that they will limit children’s exposure to the wider world and undermine their English proficiency.

Integrating Chinese cultural content into English courses was a growing education trend, state news agency Xinhua wrote in April 2025.

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