BEIJING — China has issued a list of eligible universities for the second stage of its initiative to build top-class universities and academic disciplines, the Ministry of Education said on Feb 14.

As a flagship initiative to boost the high-quality development of China's higher education sector, its first stage was launched in 2016 and finished in 2020. Based on the monitoring statistics, results, and evaluation of the previous stage, a total of 147 universities and a range of disciplines have been selected in the second stage after optimized procedures and expert reviews.

The second stage will guide universities to achieve the highest standard in fields in which they have a competitive edge and focus on exploring and building category-based development, supporting and appraisal systems, said the ministry.

Through the initiative, universities will be guided to make innovations in relevant fields and directions and achieve substantial breakthroughs. They will be encouraged to build themselves into world-class universities, said the ministry.