Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects preparation for the annual national college entrance exam (the gaokao), at the National Education Examinations Authority, in Beijing, capital of China, June 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan emphasized fairness Tuesday as she inspected preparation for the annual national college entrance exam (the gaokao).

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited the National Education Examinations Authority, which serves as the command center for the exam, scheduled to take place later this week.

About 9.75 million students have registered this year, the highest in eight years.

"The gaokao is a crucial system to ensure equality in education," Sun said. "The system is tasked with the important mission to educate and pick talent for the state."

She said the latest round of college entrance reforms since 2014 had yielded positive progress, addressing prominent public concerns such as rote learning and test-oriented education.

She said the gaokao would continue to reform exam content and emphasize overall competency. College enrollment would keep expanding to encourage all-round and individualized development of students.

Sun told governments at all levels that ensuring a safe and fair exam was a "major political responsibility." Strict measures should be taken to prevent cheating. Government departments in charge of traffic, security and health should all be mobilized to create a good exam environment for students.

"Paper grading and enrollment should be done in an open and fair manner and should be subject to public supervision," she said.