The strength or weakness of a nation and advances in the material and spiritual civilization of society as a whole are, to a large extent, determined by the quantity and quality of personnel equipped with a higher education. Also, people's need for undergoing higher education increases as the national economy develops and standards of living in society improve. Thus the popularization and universalization of higher education have become major trends in the development of the world's higher education since the 1960s. China's rate of higher education (7.6 percent in 1997, or 9.1 percent when self-study examinations for higher education are included) is still a ways from reaching the lowest limits of popularization. In this article, the author discusses the definition of the popularization concept. The author then discusses the issues faced on the path of popularization, in terms of the concept that quantitative increases and qualitative changes are unified. The author explores ways of negotiating the popularization path in terms of two strategic passes--its starting point (investment of funds) and its end point (employment of graduates). (Contains 5 notes.)