Beijing’s dig at India’s NEET fiasco? Embassy flaunts Chinese equivalent’s ‘smooth’ run

In a post on X, embassy spokesperson wrote how nearly 13 million students completed the two-day exam under what it described as a nationwide effort to support candidates.

Screenshot of a video posted by the Chinese embassy spokesperson, which shows students appearing for the NEET-equivalent Gaokao | Source: X

New Delhi: China took a dig Wednesday at India by comparing the competitive exams of both countries and pointing out how the Chinese equivalent of JEE/NEET, Gaokao, was “conducted smoothly”.

In a post on X, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in India, Yu Jing, wrote how nearly 13 million students completed the two-day exam under what was described as a nationwide effort to support candidates.

“China’s Gaokao — the world’s largest exam & India’s equivalent of JEE/NEET rolled into one — was conducted smoothly for 1.3 crore students in just 2 days,” Yu wrote on X. 

“Factories paused. Roads quieted. The entire nation rallied for its students,” she added, drawing attention to the scale and organisation of an examination widely regarded as one of the most competitive in the world.

China's Gaokao — the world's largest exam & India's equivalent of JEE/NEET rolled into one — was conducted smoothly for 1.3 crore students in just 2 days 🎓

Factories paused. Roads quieted. The entire nation rallied for its students.

चीन की गाओकाओ — दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी परीक्षा,… pic.twitter.com/aSbpL05suN

— Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) June 10, 2026

The timing of the message was stark. It came amid protests over alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2026, an examination taken by more than 2.2 million aspiring medical students.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which administers the exam, cancelled the test in May after allegations emerged that the question paper had been leaked before the examination.

The controversy triggered protests and even became the rallying cry for a new political movement called the Cockroach Janata Party.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that additional safeguards, including the use of Air Force aircraft to transport examination materials, will be deployed to prevent further breaches.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested P.V. Kulkarni, a Pune-based professor allegedly linked to the committee responsible for preparing the NEET examination paper, as reported by ThePrint earlier.

However, Gaokao is not immune to scrutiny and irregularities either.

In 2026, about 12.9 million students registered to sit for the Gaokao, according to China Daily. 

Gaokao, also called the National College Entrance Examination, is the annual nationally coordinated provincially-administered undergraduate admission exam in China.

The pressures surrounding Gaokao have often been criticised, including Beijing’s massive after-school tutoring industry, which grew to $100 billion before a government crackdown.  In 2022, the test was also plagued with cheating and paper leak concerns.

A 2025 Global Times report also highlighted how the ‘Gaokao industrial market’ thrives. Authorities reportedly warned students and parents last year about a surge in exam-related scams, including schemes involving purportedly leaked test papers, which were later labelled phishing traps. 

A 2023 survey of about 6,000 students who had just taken the Gaokao found that 36.5 percent of all diagnosed cases of depressive disorder experienced their first onset after the exams. 

A 2025 China Daily also reported on the mental impact of China’s enforcement of a two-day weekend policy for high school students ahead of Gaokao tests.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)