Xi Focus: China seeks 'winged steeds' for national rejuvenation

BEIJING - As the ancient Chinese saying goes, there are many swift horses, but not many people who can identify them.

China is making efforts to nurture and gather more "winged steeds," a phrase referring to people of great talent. These steeds are expected to lend greater horsepower to the country's development and national rejuvenation drive.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has thoroughly implemented the strategy of invigorating China through developing a quality workforce.

The efforts have brought historic achievements and changes in fostering a large pool of competent professionals for the country.

Set the direction

For decades, the Party has been vigorously seeking and nurturing talented individuals.

"We are closer than at any time in history to attaining the goal of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and we are more eager than ever to have talented individuals," Xi said in 2013.

Stressing that the Party should exercise leadership over personnel management, he has demanded the removal of institutional barriers, the pursuit of a more open talent policy, and the creation of ample space for competent professionals to make full use of their talents.

Talent powers national development

China has been dedicated to creating an enabling environment for talented people of various backgrounds to tap into their potential and pursue their dreams.

The story of Yuan Yuyu provides a glimpse into how the CPC has been promoting talent development.

Yuan returned to China for work after receiving a PhD degree in bioengineering in the United States. "From the bottom of my heart, I knew I would pursue my dream in our homeland," Yuan recalled. A more immediate motivation was his desire to break the foreign monopoly on sophisticated implanted medical devices.

Buoyed by local incentives encouraging entrepreneurship, Yuan built a medical device company from scratch. He was elected a national lawmaker and contributed his ideas on the country's innovation and talent development.

In May 2021, the CPC released regulations on organizational work, with an entire chapter dedicated to guidelines for talent management.

Xi, in an important instruction in April 2021, underscored efforts to accelerate the building of a modern vocational education system to train more high-end technicians and skilled workers.

By the end of 2020, there were more than 200 million skilled workers and more than 50 million highly skilled workers in China.

Build strong sci-tech country

A report showed that by the end of 2018, China had grown a science and technology workforce of up to 101.5 million individuals, continuing to lead the world in scale.

The nation has kept translating the advantage it enjoys in human resources into development strength.

During Xi's visit to a leading manufacturer of electronic components and advanced materials in October 2020, the importance he assigned to independent innovation of enterprises was noticeable.

"Are these products the result of your independent research and development?" asked Xi, holding a ceramic substrate.

"Indigenous innovation is what I, as well as the CPC Central Committee, attach the greatest importance to at present," he told the company staff. "The development of enterprises, the upgrading of industries, and the high-quality development of China's economy, all depend on indigenous innovation."

Xi has stressed repeatedly that talent is the most important resource.

He urged efforts to ensure that qualified scientific and technological personnel can make full use of their abilities, regardless of their qualifications.

He also stressed the cultivation of homegrown experts and top sci-tech workers with global influence, as well as the building of scientific research and innovation centers equipped with talented professionals from around the world.