The People's Republic of China has seen a dramatic growth in its economy in recent years. It has a rapidly increasing population of approximately 1.2 billion people, though the population is still largely rural with about 80% of people living outside urban areas. China in its Education Law (1995) restated its commitment to universal education. In the last twenty years it has achieved considerable success in increasing its education participation rates. However, despite the rhetoric about equality of access there are signs that indicate not everyone has the same educational opportunities. This paper describes the current education system and outlines some of the disparities that exist and describes how Chinese Government policies are affecting universal access to education. The paper's conclusions are largely optimistic in spite of the tremendous difficulties that policy makers face. [This paper was published in: "Selected Papers from the 24th Annual ANZCIES Conference" (Dilemmas and Responsibilities for Educators), Bardon Professional Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, from December 1-4, pp. 133-144.]