Hangzhou, May 12, 2026 — The China Smart Education Development Report (2025–2026) and the Global Digital Education Development Index (GDEI) 2026 were released at the closing ceremony of the 2026 World Digital Education Conference in Hangzhou.

The two publications were presented by Li Yongzhi, President of the China National Institute of Education Sciences. Both examine how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping education systems and how countries are responding to the opportunities and challenges arising from digital transformation.

The China Smart Education Development Report adopted “AI Redefining Education” as the theme for this year’s report. It reviews China’s policy measures and practical experience in advancing smart education, with a focus on national planning, the Smart Education of China platform and a series of pilot programs. The report also discusses emerging forms of smart education and identifies key issues for future global dialogue.

GDEI 2026 offers a comparative assessment of digital education development in 82 countries. Now in its third year, the index draws on multimodal evidence to track national progress in digital education in the age of AI.

This year’s index includes a special assessment of the development of thinking skills in an AI-enabled environment. According to its findings, 43 percent of countries are actively planning AI-enabled educational transformation, while 78 percent highlight the importance of higher-order thinking skills and 76 percent have set goals for developing students’ thinking abilities. 

The index also finds that global digital education is becoming more clearly structured, with the overall level of development rising by 3.52 percent. It identifies the United States, China, the Republic of Korea and Finland as among the countries that have entered a new stage of AI-enabled education.