The success of reforms in society largely depends on the educational policy, its consistency and effectiveness. The effectiveness of the educational process largely depends on overcoming the crisis processes that the country may face in the course of its development. The study of education reform models in the context of socio-economic reforms is of great interest not only for the specialists in education, but also to all those who are interested in solving problems of socio-cultural development and in finding the most promising ways and means of building an effective education system. The problem of reforming the educational system and the search for optimal development directions in the 21st century has become one of the key issues on the social and economic development agenda of China. In general, it is worth noting that during the years of implementation of the policy of reform and opening up, the country’s authorities have achieved impressive results in the development of education. The illiteracy rate has fallen to 4.59 percent, and the 9-year compulsory education coverage, on the contrary, has reached 95 percent. In the last few years, there have been interesting developments in the education segment of the PRC, which are sure to play an important role in the further development of the country. These include the rapid development of online education at all stages of education, the revival of the vocational education segment and the gradual increase in the number of non-state educational institutions. Against this background, the increasing involvement of the authorities and the government’s close attention to the normative regulation of all the "new" areas of education are becoming more and more evident.