Abstract: Ever since OECD started in 1997 the project of Definition and Selection of Competences:Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations, the term "key competences" has been highlighted in the educational documents in many countries and regions. Despite varied definitions of key competencies, there is a common understanding in those countries and regions. First, key competences should be understood from two aspects:fostering the whole person and promoting social development; second, both citizenship and internationalization have been emphasized by each economy and international organizations; third, most economies put emphasis on such competences as information, science and creativity in the new century. Meanwhile, each economy pays more attention to their excellent traditional culture in building the system of their own key competences.In order to deepen the comprehensive educational reform, it is imperative to explore and construct the system of key competences in China. Therefore, it is necessary to review the Three-competence theory and Basic-skill theory developed by Tao Xingzhi, a famous Chinese educator in the 20th century. In his career, Tao first proposed three essential competencies, including learning to live, learning to be initiative and learning to be creative; later, Tao developed the idea of 23 basic skills at Yu Cai Middle School, which came to be known as Three-competence theory and Basic-skill theory. In Tao's opinion, learning to live, learning to be initiative and learning to be creative are necessary for one to be a whole person and the 23 basic skills are the embodiment of these three competences. In a sense, these two theories could be considered as Tao's idea of key competencies.Based on Tao's Three-competence theory and Basic-skill theory, as well as a comparative analysis of the related researches on key competences, this paper attempts to develop a new system of key competencies in the new era. That is, key competences involve field competencies and general competencies. General competencies cover social development (social responsibility, national identity, international understanding and cooperation), personal development (self-understanding and self-management, the competence to be happy) and advanced learning ability (critical thinking, creativity and lifelong learning). Field competences put more emphasis on specific fields, such as language literacy, mathematical competences, science skills, art literacy and information skills.