China is increasingly focusing on rehab and education, even among adult prison populations.

The revised law emphasizes that inmates’ personal dignity, life, health and physical safety must remain inviolable. It also clearly stipulates that their rights to defense and to receive legal assistance while serving sentences should be protected. […]
The amended law focuses on enhancing the quality of inmate education and rehabilitation, requiring innovative measures to help them reintegrate into society.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202605/01/WS69f3feb1a310d6866eb4691d.html

China also separates juveniles from the adults and send them to correctional schools not ordinary prisons.
https://en.spp.gov.cn/2026-01/05/c_1153075.htm

All that sounds very sweet but their primary reason seem to be to create better performing prison labour. This is the note that the china daily ends the article with:

Justice Minister He Rong said the update — the first comprehensive revision since 1994 — is a necessary response to public demand for fairness, justice and security.
She added that improvements in law enforcement institutions and mechanisms have created new circumstances and higher demands placed on prison work.
Therefore, it is necessary to revise the law to incorporate the experiences, practices and mechanisms developed over the past 30 years, ensuring that prison work progresses in an orderly manner under the rule of law.