China issued a white paper on gender equality and women's development on Tuesday, providing a comprehensive overview of the country's policies for women and the unremitting efforts made in this regard.

According to the white paper, China actively promotes equality in education, adjusting the structure of education, adhering to the principle of gender equality, and working hard to guarantee equal rights and opportunities for both men and women to access education.

In 2014, the net primary school enrolment rates of boys and girls were both 99.8 percent, meaning that China has achieved the United Nations Millennium Development Goals ahead of time. The number of Chinese women with an education above junior high school has increased significantly, China Youth Online reported.

The white paper points out that the gender gap in education has been markedly narrowed. The state implements the Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws, regulations and policies, and takes practical measures to improve women’s education. It has implemented a special policy to ensure school-age girls enjoy equal access to compulsory education.

In 2014, the proportion of female students in junior high schools was 46.7 percent and that in high schools was 50 percent; in institutions of higher learning women accounted for 52.1 percent of undergraduate students, 51.6 percent of postgraduate students, and 36.9 percent of students studying for Ph.D. degrees.

Besides, the country has set up special funds to reduce the number of illiterate women. In 2013, the illiteracy rate for females at and over the age of 15 was 6.7 percent, 17.4 percentage points lower than in 1995; and the population of illiterate women fell by more than 70 million as compared with 1995.

Women's average years of schooling have increased, and the gender gap has narrowed. The Sixth National Census showed that the average years of schooling for women over the age of six were 8.4 years in 2010, 1.3 years more than in 2000, and the gender gap had narrowed by 0.2 year as compared with 2000.