Scouting for Talents

COUNTRIES are competing to attracttalents – as seen in the U.K.’s launchingthe Global Talent Visa and Singapore announcingthe Tech@SG Programme. Witha population of over 1.4 billion， China is also eagerto attract talents， having a long tradition of valuingtalents， as reflected in the Chinese idiom “Seek talentsas if you are thirsty.” In recent years， ChinesePresident Xi Jinping has frequently emphasizedthe topic of talent， with three points standing out：the spirit of scientists， a favorable environment fortalents， and promoting related international exchangeand cooperation.

The Spirit of Scientists

The development of every country relies onscientific and technological innovation， while theadvancement of scientific and technological innovationis dependent on talents. In his reportto the 20th National Congress of the CommunistParty of China （CPC）， President Xi called for relyingon talents to pioneer and propel development. Hesaid， “We must regard science and technology asour primary productive force， talent as our primaryresource， and innovation as our primary driver ofgrowth.”

Over the past years， China has made a lot oftechnological achievements， including sending thedeep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe （Striver ）to a depth of over 10，000 meters in the ocean andlaunching the world’s first 6G satellite into outerspace. What enabled those achievements was thetireless efforts of numerous scientific talents workingday in and day out， demonstrating their dedicationto science and the country’s development.

Take for example Nan Rendong，SlECPJtCg5xjqE4oYge6lF3va1SXmTaJ6qCdaVTJRhY= the chief scientistof China’s Five-hundred-meter ApertureSpherical Radio Telescope （FAST）， the largest radiotelescope in the world. It took Nan and his team 22years of hard work and countless failures to finallycreate what they did. At one point during their research，he could communicate with his team onlythrough e-mail as he was recovering from surgeryfor lung cancer. During his recovery， he still choseto continue his work at the FAST site despite thepain.

In an interview， Nan once told reporters， “Lookingback over our experience， we’ve seen bothhardships and joys. When you face setbacks， youobviously feel particularly frustrated and troubled.But what can you do？ In the end， it was througheveryone’s joint efforts that we overcame difficul-ties and pushed forward. FAST is the result of thehard work of a large group of people， not just myefforts alone. We can even say it is the effort of awhole generation...If there was even a slight flaw inthe FAST， we would have let the country down.”

Nan’s action of putting his money where hismouth is denotes the spirit of patriotism， selflessness，and devotion to his country as a Chinesescientist. He died on September 15， 2017， 10 daysbefore the anniversary of FAST. In September 2019，President Xi signed a presidential decree， conferringthe honorary title “Scientist of the People” onhim.

In May 2019， the CPC Central Committee andthe State Council issued a document， OpinionsConcerning Further Carrying Forward the Spirit ofScientists and Improving Work Style and LearningStyle， which summarized the spirit of scientistsas exhibiting the following characteristics： thepatriotic spirit of dedication to their motherlandand serving the people， the innovative spirit ofreaching for new heights and daring to be the first，the realistic spirit of pursuing truth and rigorousscholarship， the selfless spirit of being indifferentto fame and wealth and diligently yet quietly pursuingresearch， the cooperative spirit of conductingcollective problem-solving and teamwork， and theeducational spirit of nurturing and supporting thenext generation.

In February 2021， Xi visited Guizhou Provincewhere he called on science and technology professionalsto follow in the footsteps of outstandingscientists like Nan Rendong. Many other Chinesescientists like Nobel laureate Tu Youyou have alsobecome trailblazers in their respective fields bymaking great breakthroughs in the face of majordifficulties.

On September 11， 2020， President Xi acknowledgedat a symposium attended by scientiststhat China’s historic scientific and technologicalachievements are the result of the dedicated service，constant advancement， and continuous strug-gle of generations of scientists. He said， “Scientificachievements cannot be separated from spiritualsupport. The spirit of scientists is a valuable spiritualasset that has been accumulated by scientificworkers through a long period of scientific practice.”

Xi reiterated again in September 2021 at a centralconference on talent-related work the significanceof promoting the spirit of scientists， sayingit provides spiritual guidance and an ideologicalguarantee for talent-related work.

More recently on June 24， 2024， while speakingat a meeting conflating the national sci-techconference， the national science and technologyaward conference， and the general assemblies ofthe members of the Chinese Academy of Sciencesand the Chinese Academy of Engineering， he urgedthe listeners to foster a social atmosphere that respectslabor， knowledge， talent， and creativity， andvigorously promote the spirit of scientists. He alsoencouraged scientific researchers to set lofty goals，dedicate themselves to the nation， and remaincommitted to innovation.

A Favorable Environment

A favorable environment nurtures great talentsjust like a fertile land promises bumper crops.During his inspection trip to Wuhan on June 28，2022， Xi said， “The CPC Central Committee deeplycares about the growth of scientific and technologicaltalents. Party committees and governmentsat all levels should thus strive to create favorablesystems， mechanisms， and working and living environmentsthat support scientific and technologicalinnovation， which allow them to make greatercontributions to the country and its people.”

For instance， at the national level， China has establisheda series of awards to recognize the contributionsof outstanding scientists. They includethe State Preeminent Science and TechnologyAward， the country’s top sci-tech award， the StateNatural Science Award， the State TechnologicalInvention Award， the State Scientific and TechnologicalProgress Award， and the International Scienceand Technology Cooperation Award.

On June 24， 2024， President Xi presented thenational top sci-tech award for the year 2023 toLi Deren， a trailblazer in China’s remote sensingtechnology， and Xue Qikun， a prominent scientistin the field of condensed matter physics. He calledfor the improvement of incentive systems such asscience and technology awards， income distribution，and proprietorship of achievements so thatmore outstanding talents receive fair rewards andtheir creativity is unleashed.

Local governments have also implemented variousmeasures to foster a favorable environment fortalents， such as offering rent and subsidies to newlygraduated students to help them settle down.

In February 2023， China launched a “talent visa”for six categories of talents， namely outstanding，scientific research， education， healthcare， legal，and other talents， from mainland cities located inthe Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater BayArea， allowing them to stay as long as 30 days inHong Kong and Macao. This April， China’s NationalImmigration Administration announced that the“talent visa” would include Beijing and Shanghaiinto the policy， further facilitating the flow and exchangeof talents across the region.

On July 11， 2024， Beijing rolled out an implementationplan （2024-2026） for accelerating digitaltalent development to support the growth of thedigital economy. The plan introduces 16 measuresaimed at cultivating four types of digital talentsover approximately three years， increasing the supplyof digital talents while at the same time fosteringa concentration of digital talents.

Efforts like these have made China an idealplace for cultivating talents. According to theGlobal Talent Competitiveness Index （GTCI） 2023released by INSEAD， China ranks 40th in the topperformingupper-middle-income countries in theGTCI. The report also pointed out that over thepast decade， China has moved from being a moverof talents to a champion of talents.

International Exchanges

At the beginning of the 20th century， many CPCleaders went to study in European countries. Forexample， Zhou Enlai， the first premier of the NewChina， and Deng Xiaoping， the chief architect ofChina’s reform and opening-up drive， both studiedin France. Their overseas experience providedthem the opportunity to come in contact with newideas and perspectives from the West and betterunderstand China and the rest of the world inthat turbulent time. This in turn later helped thempromote China’s own development.

In his speech at the centenary celebration ofthe Western Returned Scholars Association onOctober 21， 2013， Xi displayed an open attitudeto attracting talents， saying， “A developing Chinaneeds more overseas talents， and an open Chinawelcomes outstanding talents from all over theworld.” In his congratulatory letter to the 110thanniversary of the association in 2023， he called onit to rally talents from around the world and poolstrengths of creativity for the development of theParty and the country.

To achieve this， more platforms like the China-Europe Talent Forum （CETF） are being built tofacilitate talent exchange with other countries.Launched in 2018， the CETF has been held fivetimes and the 2024 forum will be held this October.In April 2019， Xi reached a consensus with thethen- president of the Swiss Confederation UeliMaurer to continue hosting the CETF and promotetalent exchange between the two countries.

In addition to this， China has encouragededucational cooperation with other countries tojointly cultivate talents. In May 2006， China’s WenzhouUniversity and Kean University of the UnitedStates formally signed an agreement to jointlyestablish the Wenzhou-Kean University. It was officiallyestablished in 2014 and became a landmarkproject in China-U.S. educational cooperation. Asof this June， it had about 4，500 students across undergraduate，masters， and doctoral programs， andover 3，300 students have earned their undergraduatedegrees in the past eight years.

Since talents come from different countriesrepresenting diverse cultural backgrounds，strengthening talent exchange not only improvesa country’s competitiveness and national strength，but also enhances mutual understanding. In arecent letter to Lamont Repollet， president of KeanUniversity， Xi encouraged universities in China andthe United States to strengthen exchanges andcooperation to contribute to the China-U.S. friendship.He said， “China and the United States shouldstrengthen exchanges and cooperation throughvarious forms， and cultivate young envoys whoknow both countries well， thereby building morebridges to promote China-U.S. friendship.”

According to the Global Innovation Index 2024released by the World Intellectual Property Organizationthis August， China’s leading the worldwith 26 science and technology clusters of the top100 reflects the country’s rapid growth in innovationoutput. As China increases its efforts to buildworld hubs for talents and innovation， the country’sthirst for more talents from across the worldis increasing， so are the moves to attract them.