Wang Huiyao: Talent competition |China Daily

April 22,2019 China Daily

Talent competition: China is a natural location for highly­skilled overseas Chinese to seek opportunities

In the context of the new global scientific and technological revolution that is under way, today’s world is experiencing a period of great change. Artificial intelligence, big data, and the inter­ net are triggering ground­breaking social changes. Technological advancements are spurring a new stage in global trade, technology, capital and talent flows, while poli­cies and programs based on the previous mode of globalization are facing huge challenges, especially China’s international talent compe­tition, which is still in an early phase of development.

As the world enters the era of glo­balization 4.0, the coming techno­ logical revolution has several key characteristics. 

First, increasing numbers of tech­nological and scientific break­ throughs are internet­ based. The internet is breaking traditional geo­ graphical boundaries and connect­ing people all around the world. So far, more than 4 billion out of the total world population of 7.6 billion people are active internet users. With the spread of mobile commu­nications technology, especially smartphones, the concept of a “flat Earth” is gradually becoming a real­ity as the world becomes increas­ingly connected. 

Second, the advancement of new technology links every internet user to a wide range of sectors. New technologies featuring AI are already aimed at ordinary users and are now being created and util­ized around the world. 

Third, the progress and success of technology are becoming more dependent on the size and maturity of the market. The final and suc­cessful application of a new tech­nology relies on its market capabilities and financial support. 

Based on the features men­tioned above, China’s advantages and disadvantages in these areas are clear. China has the largest number of internet users in the world and has created a huge mar­ket of technology application users. 4G internet coverage reach­es 1.08 billion people and the nation has well­ developed internet infrastructure. China also invests enormous amounts into techno­logical development. According to statistics from CB Insights, a world-renowned venture capital research organization, China’s investment in AI in 2017 account­ed for 48 percent of the global total. McKinsey & Company research shows that during the period between 2012 and 2017, there was venture capital invest­ment of approximately $7 billion into Chinese autonomous vehicle technology companies. 

Compared with its strengths, China’s weaknesses in these areas are concentrated in basic technolo­gy research, which is largely due to the current circumstances in talent and education. 

The next round of reform and opening­-up has already begun. Chi­na must continue to drive the glob­ al economy and carry on its development of endogenous sci­ence and technology, the advance­ment of which relies on flows of international talent. To improve the quality of China’s basic technology and research, it is necessary to invest more in education and tal­ent, so as to promote domestic self­-reliance with the introduction and integration of wider knowledge and practice. 

In terms of education, China should look to synergize its “bring­ing in” and “going out” strategies. China can open up its education sector by attracting more educa­tion investment and international students to study in China, at the same time continuing to cultivate more overseas talent. The promo­tion of the Belt and Road Initiative has led to an increasing number of Chinese enterprises and people going abroad, adding to the vast number of overseas Chinese around the world. China needs to push more international schools to “go out” and establish campuses overseas. These could not only pro­ vide Chinese education for over­ seas Chinese, but also offer second generation of Chinese immigrants opportunities to engage with Chi­na and Chinese culture. This will facilitate the cultivation of more second generation of Chinese immigrants who are passionate about China, thereby developing potential international talent, pro­moting future flows of skilled tal­ent, and creating a new talent source for China. 

In order to attract international talent, China could establish a sys­tem and environment geared toward this purpose, to attract lead­ing global talent in the fields of sci­ence and technology, for example. With new developments in science and technology and greater open­ing, China should form a competi­tive modern talent system to further its strategy of strengthening China through talent improvement. Reducing the limitations on foreign students interning and working in China would help to attract poten­tial future talent from around the world. Meanwhile, China could take the lead setting up an interna­tional talent federation, through which talent development coopera­tion between different regions can be coordinated, promoting the regional integration of talent. 

In addition, the overseas Chinese community is an important resource that can be tapped to attract international talent to Chi­na. Overseas Chinese function as a store of Chinese international tal­ent and have great potential as a force in new global human resour­ces competition. There are more than 60 million overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese highly-skilled STEM talents are becoming key players in their fields. China has unique core competitiveness in attracting highly­-skilled overseas Chinese and is a natural location for this group to seek opportunities. 

As competition in global talent, technology and soft power grows increasingly fierce, overseas Chi­nese, especially second generation of Chinese immigrants, will play a crucial role. China should seek to establish a better platform and accessible opportunities to tap into the talent pool of overseas Chinese. 

From China Daily，April 22,2019

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