It’s talent, stupid!

Central Conference on Talent Work 2021

The Central Conference on Talent Work was held on September 28 and 29 in Beijing. At the conference, Xi called for a redoubling of efforts to build up China’s talent in support of its national ambitions in technology and science. He also set goals for talent work for 2025, 2030, and 2035. The conference outcomes highlight the critical importance attached to talent by the Party.

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Translation by Adam Ni, Introduction by Emily Weinstein

I. Introduction

The Central Conference on Talent Work was held on September 28 and 29 in Beijing. A translation of the conference’s summary from Xinhua is below in Section III. 

At the conference, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of talents in achieving the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”. For Xi, talent cultivation is paramount to achieving China’s technological self-sufficiency goals, as it involves building up the domestic talent capacity necessary to reduce China’s reliance on foreign tech powers.

Indeed, Xi has essentially boiled the global competition for comprehensive national strength down to talent, arguing that talent is an important indicator to measure the strength. In other words, it’s a big deal. 

At the conference, Xi laid out “eight persistences” (八个坚持) for guiding talent work: 

1. Adhere to the Party’s overall leadership of talents;

2. Adhere to the strategic position of talent-led development;

3. Persist in facing [and tackling] the frontier of world science and technology, the main economic battlefield, the major needs of China, and the [issues pertaining to] the life and health of the people;

4. Adhere to the effective cultivation and usage of talents on all fronts;

5. Adhere to deepening the reform of the institutional mechanisms for talent development;

6. Persist in gathering talent from all over the world and using them [for our purposes];

7. Persist in creating an environment that recognizes, admires, respects, and uses talent; and

8. Adhere to the promotion of the Scientist Spirit.

In addition to these eight guidelines, Xi also put forward a timeline for China’s talent work:

By 2025:

• Significantly increase the investment into R&D expenditure across the entire society;

• make important progress in building [our] main force of scientific and technological innovation;

• significantly lift the [relative] concentration of top scientists [in China];

• constantly improve the capability of talent self-cultivation, and possess a large cohort of strategic scientific and technological talents, leading talents and innovation teams in core technology fields.

By 2030:

• Basically form a talent system adapted to high-quality development;

• significantly enhance the capability of innovation talent self-cultivation;

• significantly increase the attractiveness [of China] to the world’s best talents;

• possess a cohort of pacesetters in major scientific and technological fields; and

• possess a cohort of pioneers in the cross-cutting areas of emerging [scientific and technological] frontiers.

By 2035:

• [China] will form comparative advantages in numerous fields of talent competition and make it to the forefront of the world in terms of national strategic power in science and technology and high-level talent pool.

This emphasis on talent cultivation and retention is not new, nor is it Xi-specific. Chinese leaders have been working to improve China’s domestic talent pool since the 1980s, just years after the country first opened its doors to the wider world in 1978.

Convincing people to go out and obtain degrees and experience abroad was the easy part; getting them to return [to China] proved more difficult. At the outset of the open door policy, Deng Xiaoping and other leaders had hoped that many Chinese students and professionals would indeed return to China after some time abroad; however, very few mechanisms existed for enforcing or encouraging people to return until the early 2000s. 

Since the early 2000s, China has focused significant efforts on encouraging and orchestrating both the return of overseas Chinese diaspora—often referred to as sea turtles, or haigui (海龟)—as well as attracting foreigners to work in China. This two-fold strategy is illustrated in Chinese government-run talent programs, like the now-infamous Thousand Talents Plan , among others, that differentiate between attracting “overseas” (海外) versus “foreign” (外国), two terms that are often used interchangeably in English but carry different meanings in Chinese. In Chinese, “overseas” refers to the Chinese diaspora, whereas “foreign” refers to those not of Chinese ethnicity or nationality.

Beyond talent programs, the Chinese leadership has worked to improve the country’s higher education system as a means to keep citizens from seeking education abroad, and to attract foreign researchers to study in China. Programs like the 211 Program, the 985 Program, and now the “Double First-Class” (双一流) Program have been designed to bolster the capabilities of select Chinese universities by providing additional government funding and resources to improve curricula, laboratories, materials, and more. 

Despite the ever-present role of talent recruitment and cultivation in high-level Chinese policy over the past two decades, what is notable about this latest conference is a deeper emphasis on political correctness, particularly within Xi’s China, where we’ve witnessed a consolidation of Party rule and tightening of the social and political environment. In his speech, Xi repeatedly noted the importance of adhering to the CCP’s management of S&T talents, a concept that has always existed but appears to have been played down over the last two decades, perhaps in China’s desperation to attract talent regardless of ideology.

But this shift in attention to “political correctness” may demonstrate an effort on the part of Beijing to be pickier about talents. Could it be that China finds itself closer to achieving its stated talent goals and can therefore be more selective? Or is it connected to Xi’s broader focus on ideology and loyalty? The answer remains to be seen. 

In addition to the focus on ideology, Xi also seems to believe that now, in particular, is the time for China to “grasp the strategic initiative” in talent work, arguing that China is “more eager than any period in history” for professional talents. We have previously seen Xi use similar language to talk about a “period of historical opportunity” (历史机遇期) for China to expand its global footprint, so the concept is not new.

However, with increasing scrutiny in the United States and elsewhere regarding Chinese talent, as demonstrated in the Department of Justice’s China Initiative and the May 2020 Presidential Proclamation restricting visas for Chinese students from military-adjacent institutions, it is not surprising that Xi may view the door as closing. He may view the next decade leading up to his 2035 stated goals as his country’s final push to obtain the talent it needs before it will have to be self-sufficient.

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II. Adam’s thoughts

This is the third time that the conference on talent work has been held. The first time was in December 2003 and the second in May 2010. Both of these previous conferences were at the “national” level (全国人才工作会议) whereas this one is the first one to be held at the “central” level (中央人才工作会议).

Central-level work conferences have higher status than national-level work conferences and are attended by higher officials. This time the whole Politburo Standing Committee attended, attesting to the importance assigned to talent work by the Chinese leadership. Or in Xi’s words:

We are closer to the grand goal of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than at any other time in history, and [thus] we also crave talent more than any other time in history.

To achieve our goal, a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-empowerment is the key. The competition in comprehensive national power is, in the final analysis, the competition for talent. Talent is an important indicator for measuring a country’s comprehensive national power.

The talents discussed below refer mostly to STEM talents. There is only one short mention of non-STEM talents. But curiously, under Xi the Party leadership composition itself has shifted; there are now fewer technocrats and more officials with social science backgrounds than during Hu’s tenure. Perhaps this partly reflects the changing needs of governance.

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III. Translation

习近平在中央人才工作会议上强调 深入实施新时代人才强国战略 加快建设世界重要人才中心和创新高地 李克强主持 栗战书汪洋赵乐际韩正出席 王沪宁讲话

Xi Jinping stressed at the Central Conference on Talent Work that the new era strategy of strengthening the country with talent should be implemented deeply and that the building of [China into an] important world talent and innovation centre shall be accelerated. Li Keqiang presided over the conference, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng attended, and Wang Huning spoke.

Source: http://www.news.cn/politics/leaders/2021-09/28/c_1127913654.htm

Xinhua (Beijing), September 28 — The Central Conference on Talent Work was held in Beijing from September 27 to 28. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the conference and delivered an important speech.

He stressed the need to adhere to the Party’s governance of human talent and persist in facing [and tackling] the frontier of world science and technology, the main battlefield of the economy, the major needs of the country, and [issues pertaining to] the life and health of the people. In doing so, [we] must deepen the implementation of the new era strong talent nation strategy, comprehensively cultivate, introduce and effectively use talent, and accelerate the building of [China into a] key world talent centre and innovation highland.

This is to provide talent support for the basic realisation of socialist modernisation in 2035 and to lay the talent foundation for the full construction of a great modern socialist country by 2050.

Li Keqiang presided over the conference. Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng attended the meeting. Wang Huning made the concluding speech.

Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech that during its century-long struggle, our Party has always attached importance to cultivating, uniting, leading, and supporting the creation of talent. Our Party has also always united and supported talents from all walks of life to succeed in striving for the cause of the Party and the people.

Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has arrived at the major judgment that talent is a strategic resource for achieving national revitalisation and winning the initiative in international competition. It made major plans to comprehensively cultivate, introduce and use talent, which has driven the historic achievements and changes in the talent work of the new era. [Since the 18th Party Congress,] the Party’s leadership of talent work has been comprehensively strengthened, the talent pool has grown rapidly, the performance of talent has continuously increased, and [our] comparative advantage in talent has been steadily strengthened.

[China] already possesses a talent contingent that is grand in scale and excellent in quality, one that has been continuously optimised in structure. Our nation’s talent work is standing at a new historical starting point.

Xi Jinping stressed that [China] has now entered a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country and reach the second centenary goal. We are closer to the grand goal of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than at any other time in history, and [thus] we also crave talent more than any other time in history.

To achieve our goal, a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-empowerment is the key. The competition in comprehensive national power is, in the final analysis, the competition for talent. Talent is an important indicator for measuring a country’s comprehensive national power.

National development depends on talent, and national revitalisation also depends on talent. We must enhance our awareness of the possibility of unexpected developments, pay even more attention to cultivating talent in a self-reliant way, and accelerate the formation of competitive advantages in human resources.

Xi Jinping pointed out that since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee has answered thoroughly the major theoretical and practical questions of why build a strong talent nation, what is a strong talent nation, and how to build a strong talent nation. It has put forward a series of new ideas, strategies and initiatives.

The first is to adhere to the Party’s overall leadership of talent work; the second is to adhere to the strategic position of talent-led development; the third is to persist in facing [and tackling] the frontier of world science and technology, the main battlefield of the economy, the major needs of the country, and the [issues pertaining to] the life and health of the people; the fourth is to adhere to the effective cultivation and usage of talent on all fronts; the fifth is to adhere to deepening the reform of the institutional mechanisms for talent development; the sixth is to persist in gathering talent from all over the world and using them [for our purposes]; the seventh is to persist in creating an environment that recognises, admires, respects and uses talent; and the eighth is to adhere to the promotion of the Scientist Spirit.

The above eight items represent the deepening of our understanding with respect to the rules and patterns of our nation’s talent development enterprise. They should always be adhered to and constantly enriched and developed.　

Xi Jinping stressed that to accelerate the building of [China into a] key world talent centre and innovation highland, we must grasp the strategic initiative and do a good job of top-level design and strategic planning.

Our goals by 2025 are to significantly increase the investment into R&D expenditure across the entire society; make important progress in building [our] main force of scientific and technological innovation; significantly lift the [relative] concentration of top scientists [in China]; constantly improve the capability of talent self-cultivation, and possess a large cohort of strategic scientific and technological talents, leading talents and innovation teams in core technology fields.

Our goals by 2030 are to basically form a talent system adapted to high-quality development; significantly enhance the [China’s independent] capability of cultivating innovation talents; significantly increase the attractiveness [of China] to the world’s best talents; possess a cohort of pacesetters in major scientific and technological fields; and possess a cohort of pioneers in the cross-cutting areas of emerging [scientific and technological] frontiers.

Our aim by 2035 is for [China] to form comparative advantages in numerous fields of talent competition and make it to the forefront of the world in terms of national strategic power in science and technology and high-level talent pool.

Xi Jinping pointed out that accelerating the building of [China into] a key world talent centre and innovation highland requires a strategic layout. Integrating different considerations, [we] can build high-level talent highlands in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Moreover, some key cities with a high concentration of high-level talent shall focus on building platforms to attract and gather talent.

[We] shall carry out pilots for integrated reform of the talent development system, focus high-quality national resources to support the construction of a bunch of key national laboratories and new-type research and development institutions; launch international big science research plans; provide first-class international innovation platforms for talent; and accelerate the formation of strategic pivot points and flying geese pattern [for talent development and innovation].

Xi Jinping stressed the need to deepen the reform of the institutional system for talent development. Based on needs and reality, [We] should fully delegate authority to [talent] employing entities, and to facilitate their active [and positive] roles in cultivating, introducing and using talent.

The employing entities should give play to their subjective initiative; enhance their service awareness and support capability; establish an effective system [combining] self-restraint and external supervision; and ensure that [further] delegated authority [down the chain] are effectively and properly delivered and used.

Employing work units should effectively fulfil their responsibilities. They are accountable for not using delegated authority properly [and/or] for not fulfilling their responsibilities. They need to actively reduce restrictions for talent, improve the talent management system, and show tolerance towards talent.

Scientists should be given greater authority to decide on technical routes, allocate funds, and manage resources. At the same time, a sound responsibility system and military-order style system shall be instituted and improved to ensure that research projects achieve results.

We must deepen the reform in scientific research fund management and optimize and integrate talent programs, so that talents can meditate on their studies and focus on research, and produce more and better achievements.

We must improve the talent evaluation system, accelerate the establishment of a talent evaluation system oriented towards the values, abilities, and contributions of innovation, and form as well as implement an evaluation system conducive to scientific and technological talents dedicating themselves to research and innovation.

Xi Jinping pointed out that [strategically important] scientists should be vigorously cultivated and used. We need to adhere to standards of practice. Among the program leaders of major national science and technology missions, [we should] identify those scientists who have deep scientific literacy, worked at the coal-face of scientific research for a long time, have broad visions, and have the foresight, interdisciplinary understanding, and the ability to organise and lead major operations. We should adhere to a long-term vision, consciously identify and cultivate more high-level talents with the potential to become [strategically important] scientists and form an echelon for cultivating [strategically important] scientists.

Xi Jinping stressed the need to create a large cohort of first-class scientific and technological leaders and innovation teams, and to realise the roles of national laboratories, national research institutions, high-level research universities, science and technology leading enterprises as parts of the national team. They need to ensure production on the one hand, and research and education on the other are jointly tackled with respect to key national fields and key industries.

We must optimise the mechanism for discovering leading talents and for selecting [members] for project teams, and implement special policies for leading talents with respect to matching talent to [work] positions, research conditions and management mechanisms. [We] must create a massive team of young scientific and technological talents, and focus our policies on nurturing the country’s strategic talent force on young scientific and technological talents, and support young talents taking up responsibilities and playing a leading role.

We must train a large cohort of outstanding engineers and strive to build a team of engineers that loves the Party and are dedicated to serving the country. This team shall be dedicated to their work, possess outstanding technical innovation capability and are good at solving complex engineering problems. [We] should mobilise the enthusiasm of both universities and enterprises, and realise the deep integration of industry, education and research.

Xi Jinping pointed out that great and comprehensive efforts should be made to cultivate, introduce and use talents. [China] has the world’s largest higher education system and a broad stage for the development of all undertakings. It is fully capable of continuously cultivating and training large cohorts of outstanding talents and masters. We must have such determination and confidence. We must walk our own road of self-reliance with respect to talent cultivation.

Higher education institutions, especially the “Double First-class” universities should play the role of cultivating the main talent force for basic research. We must plan the development of talent in basic disciplines in a holistic manner, build a batch of basic discipline training bases, and cultivate high-quality versatile talent.

We must formulate and implement special projects with respect to basic research talents, and provide long-term and stable support to a group of young talents who have outstanding achievements in the natural science fields and have demonstrated a potential for innovation. We must also cultivate a large cohort of philosophers, social scientists, literary artists and other talents across various fields. 

We must strengthen international exchanges on talent. We must make good use of all kinds of talents, and treat special talents in urgent need with special policies. For special talents, we should not expect perfection, or rank according to seniority [rather than ability]. We should not measure them with a single yardstick, and let those with real talent put their abilities to the best use.

We must establish a trust-based mechanism for the use of talent that allows and tolerates failures, one that encourages science and technology leaders to take command on projects. We must build a platform for all kinds of talents to work and start their own business, build a revenue distribution mechanism that fully reflects the value of knowledge, technology and other innovation factors. This is to motivate talent through the [possibilities] of enterprise, and to let talents succeed.

Xi Jinping stressed that to effectively carry out talent work [we] must adhere to the correct political direction, and constantly strengthen and improve [our] work relating to intellectuals. [We must] encourage them to deepen their patriotism and dedication to the country, and sharpen their will to serve the country. [We must] encourage them to actively shoulder the mission and responsibilities given by the times.

The broad mass of the talented should inherit and carry forward the older generation of scientists’ excellent qualities of patriotism and dedication in serving the people. They shall have a broad and high perspective of the national enterprise, solve problems for the nation, and carry out their duties for the nation.

We shall optimise the recognition and reward system for talent, increase the effort in publicising advanced role models, and drive the formation of a culture of respect for talent across the entire society.

Xi Jinping pointed out that Party committees (Party groups) at all levels should improve the talent work system and structure. Accordingly, the Party committees shall exercise unified leadership, Organisation Departments shall take the lead [in implementation], divisions of functional departments shall carry out their own duties in close coordination, and social forces shall be widely involved.

All regions and departments should base [their actions] on actual circumstances, focus on prominent areas, and solve practical problems that have been subjects of strong feedback by talents. They must increase the amount and effectiveness of the investment in the development of talent. 

Party propaganda departments, and government education, science and technology, industry and information, security, human resources, cultural and tourism, state-owned assets, finance, external affairs and other departments at all levels must give full play to their functional roles and work together to implement the tasks of talent work.

Li Keqiang pointed out while presiding over the meeting that the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping is made from the height of the overall development of the Party and the State. It comprehensively reviews the historic achievements and historic changes in talent work since the 18th Party Congress. It is an in-depth analysis of the new situation, new tasks and new challenges, and provides us with scientific answers to a series of major theoretical and practical issues facing talent work in the new era. It clarifies for us the guiding ideology, strategic objectives, key tasks, and policy measures. It points a clear way forward, and provides basic instructions. It is a programmatic document with a strong political, ideological and theoretical basis and orientation. 

We should study and implement it carefully, enhance our “Four Consciousnesses”, firm the “Four Self-confidences”,  and achieve the “Two Maintenance”. We must transform the spirit of [this] conference into a strong impetus to improve talent work. We must transform it into ideas and initiatives for driving high-quality development of talent work, and vivid practice to speed up the construction of a strong talent nation. We must constantly open up new horizons for the Party’s talent work.

Wang Huning said in his concluding speech that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech is penetrating, grand in vision, rich and profound in thought. It scientifically answers a series of major theoretical and practical questions with respect to talent work in the new era. It has a very strong political and intellectual orientation and is very instructive and relevant.

[We] must study and implement the new ideas, strategies and initiatives of General Secretary Xi Jinping on talent work in the new era, and [help] advance the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee on talent work in the new era so that they take effect. [We] must ensure that [we] study, publicise and implement the spirit of [this] conference.

Comrades from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong Province’s Shenzhen, the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Limited and Tsinghua University made speeches to exchange views.

Members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Secretaries of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, relevant leading comrades of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, State Councillors, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and relevant leading comrades of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference attended the meeting.

Members of the Central Leading Group for Talent Work attended this conference as well as the leading comrades and the comrades in charge [of specific functional areas] from the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities under separate state planning, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, departments of [Party] central and state organs, mass organisations and the relevant departments of the Central Military Commission. The leading comrades of financial enterprises subordinate to the Central Government, selected key state-owned enterprises and higher education institutions subordinate to the Central Government also attended the conference.

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