BEIJING — China plans to train millions of “backbone teachers” by 2035 while modernizing its system and capacity for the governance of teachers, according to an official statement.

The statement, issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, aims to further reform the system of teacher training in the new era.

“China will create a sound system on the cultivation and training of teachers, raise teachers’ salary and make the profession more attractive in the next five years,” it said.

Teachers’ comprehensive quality, professional level and their abilities on innovation will see a remarkable improvement by 2035, according to the statement.

Efforts will also be made to raise their professional ethics and competence, it said.

The regulation, the first of its kind since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, is also aimed at tackling the structural imbalance between teachers in urban and rural areas, an official with the Ministry of Education said.

China has 15.78 million professional teachers in 2016, according to the ministry.