China is committed to further open up its education sector by encouraging Chinese people to study abroad and improving the policy and services for international students in China, Minister of Education Chen Baosheng said on Monday.

The country believes that education should seek common development with other countries and is firmly committed to keep strengthening exchanges and cooperation with various countries and international organizations including United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Chen said at the International Forum on Artificial Intelligence and the Futures of Education.

The forum was co-organized by the Ministry of Education, UNESCO and China National Commission for UNESCO.

China is upgrading the Belt and Road Education Action and will play a bigger part in major actions and global governance in education, expand the supply of international public goods of education, provide all the possible assistance to developing countries, and make joint efforts to realize sustainable development goals, Chen said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it evident that humanity is a community with a shared future. The pandemic has dealt a heavy blow on education worldwide, and governments and the education sectors of various countries have responded with all-out efforts by introducing online education on an unprecedentedly massive scale, he said.

"The pandemic will end one day. But the world will be a different place. Education will not be the same either," he said.

Education bears on the future of humanity. It is the world's shared responsibility to plan the development of education with a vision for the future, he said.

"We should stay committed to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits," he said. "We need to fully leverage new technology and pool our strengths to make quality education resources accessible to more people, especially those in the least developed countries and regions, so as to bridge the digital divide, realize inclusive development and create a better world for all."