Xi unveils plan to turn China into talent hub

By XU WEI

A robot dances at the Zhongguancun Forum exhibition in Beijing, on Sept 25, 2021. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Country aims to rank among world’s best as strategic force in science by 2035

President Xi Jinping has set out a vision to develop China into a global hub for talented people and innovation, with steps to train and bring in more top-flight professionals to enable them to fulfill their potential.

Speaking at a central work conference on human resources－held in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday－Xi called for greater emphasis to be given to training talent and quicker steps to establish a competitive edge in human resources.

As China edges closer to the grand goal of realizing its great rejuvenation, the nation is more eager for talented people than at any period in history, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The country’s competitive strength and national development and rejuvenation hinge on the fostering of more talented people, he said.

Xi summed up key experiences of the nation’s work related to talent in eight areas, including adhering to the Party’s across-the-board leadership, following the strategy of talent-led growth and focusing on the forefront of global science and technology, the economy, the major demands of the country and people’s health.

He unveiled the nation’s goals in this area over the next 15 years. By 2025, China will see a sharp increase in spending on research and development, secure important progress in developing a leading force in scientific and technological innovation, bring together more top scientists and have a large number of talented people in core technologies.

China will establish a talent system in keeping with high-quality growth and have stronger appeal to high-caliber talent globally by 2030. By 2035, China aims to rank among the world’s top nations in terms of being a strategic force in science and technology and have high-caliber talent, he said.

The president proposed building a leading area for high-caliber talent in Beijing, Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, saying that the nation’s high-quality resources should prioritize support for a group of national laboratories and new research institutions.

China will launch an international, big science plan to offer a leading innovation platform for talent, he said.

In deepening the institutional reform for talent development, Xi highlighted the need to give play to the role of employers in training and bringing in talented people and enabling them to fulfill their potential.

Scientists must be given greater say in deciding what technological routes to take, allocation of funds and resources, he said, adding that it is equally important to ensure that scientific and research programs can yield outcomes.

Xi urged stronger efforts to train scientists and enable them to play a more important role, adding that it is important to find more scientific workers with broad horizons, strong foresight and judgment.

The role of national laboratories, research institutions, high-level universities and leading tech companies must be amplified to develop a large number of leading scholars and innovation teams, he said.

The nation must focus the strength of its talent policies on young specialists while enabling them to take major responsibility, he added.

China, with the world’s biggest higher-education system, is capable of training a large number of high-caliber talented people, giving rise to leading scholars, he said.

Higher-education institutions, especially top universities, must play a major role in training talented people in the areas of fundamental research, with measures to develop a host of training bases in fundamental science, he said.

Xi also underlined the need to give rise to more philosophers, social scientists and artists, saying that stronger measures must be taken to enhance international exchanges of talent.

He called for special policies to be adopted for talented people in short supply and the establishment of a trust-based mechanism to enable them to play their roles.

China Daily