China is an important case for examining the development of doctoral education systems as the country only recently became the largest doctorate producer in the world. This article presents and discusses recent developments in doctoral education in Mainland China by focusing on three issues: quality assurance, internationalisation, and doctoral employment. As the article was written at the early stage of China's post-pandemic years, it also touches upon the impacts of the COVID-19, especially on international students and on the labour market. It concludes with questions regarding new initiatives for doctoral employment and emergence of new types of research universities.