CPC Committee of the Ministry of Science and Technology: Integrally Advancing Education, Technology, and Talent Development to Accelerate High-Level Scientific and Technological Self-Reliance and Self-Strengthening
Volume 5 of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China vividly records the great practice of our Party leading the people to advance Chinese-path modernization and centrally displays the latest developments in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It provides a systematic exposition on "integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent" in a dedicated chapter, clarifying the strategic requirements and practical paths for integrated development. We must study it conscientiously, comprehend it deeply, and resolutely ensure its thorough implementation.
I. Fully Recognize the Profound Connotations and Great Significance of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Important Expositions on the Integrated Advancement of Education, Science and Technology, and Talent
General Secretary Xi Jinping has always attached great importance to work concerning education, science and technology, and talent. He emphasizes that science and technology are the primary productive force, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driver. He has clarified that education, science and technology, and talent constitute the foundational and strategic pillars for building a modern socialist country in all respects. He pointed out that scientific and technological innovation relies on talent, while talent cultivation relies on education, requiring the organic combination and integrated coordination of the three to create a multiplier effect for high-quality development, and has made a series of important deployments for the cultivation of scientific and technological talent. To study and comprehend General Secretary Xi Jinping’s new thoughts, new perspectives, and new judgments regarding the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent, we must take high-quality development as the goal, high-level science and technology self-reliance and self-strengthening as the lead, and the cultivation and utilization of scientific and technological talent as the focus. We must form a synergy for integrated advancement to provide foundational and strategic support for accelerating the construction of a scientific and technological powerhouse and realizing Chinese-path modernization.
(1) The integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent is the latest development of Marxist theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "education, science and technology, and talent are internally consistent and mutually supporting," clarifying that we must "persist in the integrated advancement of educational development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation to form a virtuous cycle." Education, science and technology, and talent are important components of Marxist theory on productive forces. Marx believed that "productive forces also include science" and that education is "not only a method of increasing social production, but also the only method of producing fully developed human beings." Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "Without engaging in science and technology, productive forces cannot be improved," and that education "must be combined with productive labor." Comrade Deng Xiaoping pointed out: "To develop science and technology, it is impossible without grasping education" and "the foundation for the cultivation of scientific and technological talent lies in education." Standing upon the basic principles of Marxism, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively pointed out the internal consistency and mutual support of education, science and technology, and talent, elucidating the directional and fundamental issues of integrated development. This is a further enrichment and development of Marxist theory.
(2) The integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent is a strategic move to support the realization of high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that high-quality development is an inevitable requirement of Chinese-path modernization, clarifying that "we must optimize the discipline settings and talent cultivation models of higher education institutions based on new trends in scientific and technological development, to cultivate urgently needed talent for developing new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development." The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made the major strategic decision to build an educational powerhouse, a scientific and technological powerhouse, and a talent powerhouse by 2035—15 years ahead of the goal of fully building a great modern socialist country. This is intended to leverage the supporting and leading role of education, science and technology, and talent for high-quality development. As our country is about to enter a crucial period for consolidating the foundation and fully exerting efforts to basically realize socialist modernization, developmental conditions and growth models are undergoing profound changes. Realizing high-quality development urgently requires accelerating the shift from factor-driven to innovation-driven growth. This places higher requirements on the forward-looking deployment of education and the cultivation of science and engineering talent; it makes the demand for urgently needed talent in strategic fields and top-notch innovative talent more pressing. There is an urgent need to integrally advance the development of education, science and technology, and talent, carving out a development path from strong talent and strong technology to strong industry, a strong economy, and a strong nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping's series of important expositions accurately grasp the strategic goals, situations, and challenges of building a modern socialist country in all respects, profoundly elucidating the realistic requirement that development depends on technology, technology depends on talent, and talent depends on education, providing a guide for action for integrated development.
(3) The integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent is an inevitable requirement for seizing the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed: "Seize the historical opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, coordinate the construction of an educational powerhouse, a scientific and technological powerhouse, and a talent powerhouse, improve the overall efficiency of the national innovation system, comprehensively enhance independent innovation capabilities, and seize the commanding heights of scientific and technological development, continuously giving rise to new quality productive forces." Throughout history, every technological revolution and industrial transformation has driven major adjustments in economic structures, causing profound changes and presenting brand-new requirements for the knowledge, skills, and structural types of the labor force. Currently, the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating its breakthroughs, characterized by distinct interdisciplinary fusion and an ever-increasing speed of knowledge updating. This requires educational models and talent cultivation methods to better adapt to the new trend of accelerated iteration of frontier technologies in emerging fields. Artificial Intelligence is leading a shift in the paradigm of scientific research; the labor force is taking on new forms of human-machine collaboration; and innovative, versatile, and digital talents have become urgent societal needs, placing higher requirements on the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important expositions provide profound insight into the laws of historical development of human society, accurately grasping the trends and characteristics of the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent, and pointing out the direction forward for integrated development.
II. Accurately Grasp the Practical Foundation and General Requirements for the Integrated Advancement of the Development of Education, Science and Technology, and Talent
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our country has deeply implemented the strategy of invigorating the country through science and education, the strategy of strengthening the country through talent, and the innovation-driven development strategy. We have pushed the causes of education, science and technology, and talent toward achieving historic achievements and undergoing historic transformations, embarking on a new journey toward building an educational powerhouse, a scientific and technological powerhouse, and a talent powerhouse. Our country's scientific and technological strength has leapt forward overall; national strategic scientific and technological forces have continuously grown; breakthroughs in key core technologies have been continuously made; and a batch of major original achievements has been attained. The number of high-level international journal papers and international patent applications has ranked first in the world for five consecutive years, and the national comprehensive innovation capacity improved from 14th in 2020 to 10th in 2024. We have built the world's largest and highest-quality education system, with the gross enrollment rate in higher education reaching 60.8%. In 2023, approximately 603,000 postgraduate students in the fields of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine were cultivated, accounting for roughly 59.4% of the total number of postgraduate graduates that year. The role of universities as a main force in basic research has become more prominent, and the foundational supporting role of education for scientific and technological innovation has been continuously strengthened. The scientific and technological talent pool has increased in both quantity and quality. Our country has become the world’s largest talent resource powerhouse with the most complete range of categories, with a total talent resource of 220 million people and more than 72 million high-skilled talents. Our country’s total full-time equivalent of R&D personnel reached 7.241 million person-years in 2023, ranking first in the world for many years. In 2025, the number of highly cited researchers in the Chinese mainland reached 1,406 person-times, accounting for 19.7% of the global total. Positive progress has been made in the integration of science and education, and the integration of industry and education. We have promoted the optimization and upgrading of disciplines and majors in universities; in 2024, 1,673 undergraduate major points urgently needed for national strategy were added, and 1,670 major points that did not adapt to economic and social development were revoked. We have deepened the reform of the cultivation of master’s and doctoral students in engineering, with more than 60 universities and over 100 enterprises jointly enrolling more than 20,000 engineering master’s and doctoral students. We focused on frontier fields such as AI, integrated circuits, and life sciences to promote the pilot construction of national colleges. Relying on major national scientific and technological tasks and platform bases for scientific and technological innovation, we have gathered and created high-level talent. We have incentivized talent by deepening reforms in key areas such as scientific and technological talent evaluation, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, research autonomy, and salary systems, creating a good ecosystem to serve talent. At the same time, it must be seen that structural contradictions between talent cultivation and the supply and demand of scientific and technological innovation remain prominent. There is a shortage of top-tier scientific and technological talent; the cultivation of engineering and technical talent is disconnected from production practice; talent evaluation is unreasonable; the flow of scientific and technological talent is not smooth; and the coordination mechanisms for integrated advancement need to be improved. We must further strengthen overall coordination to form a powerful synergy for integrated development.
To seriously comprehend and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important expositions and the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee, we must grasp the general requirements for the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent. First, persist in taking high-quality development as the goal. High-quality development is the primary task of building a modern socialist country in all respects. We must base ourselves on developing new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development, integrally deploying the innovation chain, industrial chain, and talent chain, and integrally advancing educational development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation to achieve a virtuous cycle and mutual promotion of education, science and technology, and talent, creating a multiplier effect for high-quality development. Second, persist in taking high-level science and technology self-reliance and self-strengthening as the lead. In promoting high-quality development, the most important thing is to accelerate high-level science and technology self-reliance and self-strengthening. We must focus on the "Four Orientations" [1], taking high-level science and technology self-reliance and self-strengthening as the starting point and ultimate goal of integrated development. We must strengthen the foundational supporting role of education for technology and talent, strengthen the fundamental guarantee role of talent for scientific and technological innovation, and provide strong support for high-level science and technology self-reliance and self-strengthening with high-quality education and high-quality talent. Third, persist in taking the cultivation and utilization of scientific and technological talent as the focus. Innovation-driven development is essentially talent-driven. We must enhance our systematic perspective, accurately grasp the connotations and focus of integrated advancement, and treat the cultivation and utilization of scientific and technological talent as the bridge for the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent. We must strengthen the cultivation of science and engineering postgraduates, strive to increase the scale of science and engineering talent in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and stimulate the innovation and creativity of scientific and technological talent. Fourth, persist in taking institutional innovation and environmental creation as the guarantee. Integrated development must rely on reform to create a good innovation ecosystem and maximize the motivation and vitality of innovation. We must target the bottlenecks and obstacles restricting integrated development, coordinately advance the integrated reform of systems and mechanisms for education, science and technology, and talent, build systems and mechanisms supporting comprehensive innovation, and enhance the overall efficiency of the national innovation system.
III. Fully Implement the Major Tasks for the Integrated Advancement of Education, Science and Technology, and Talent
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee [2] provided top-level design and strategic planning for the next five years of development and made specific deployments for the integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent. We must conscientiously study and comprehend General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important expositions, further unify our thinking, build consensus, form a synergy, and implement the CPC Central Committee’s major decisions and deployments to the letter.
(1) Uphold and strengthen the overall leadership of the Party, and establish and improve coordination mechanisms for the integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent. We must integrate the Party's leadership through every process and link of the integrated reform and development of education, science and technology, and talent, strengthening political leadership over work in these areas to always maintain the correct political direction. We must strengthen the alignment of planning, taking the integrated advancement of the development of education, science and technology, and talent as an important part of the relevant plans for education, science and technology, and talent during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [3], coordinately deploying major tasks and reform measures. We must strengthen policy synergy, enhancing the coordinated formulation and implementation of policies for scientific and technological innovation, educational development, and talent cultivation and utilization. We must strengthen the coordination of resources, promoting the integrated allocation of projects, bases, talent, and funds in key areas. We will support localities in focusing on the development of key industries, carrying out pilots in areas such as joint cultivation and sharing of talent based on innovation platforms, joint tackling of key scientific research projects, and the "introduction, cultivation, retention, utilization, and service" [4] of talent.
(2) Coordinately advance the construction of national strategic scientific and technological forces and the implementation of major scientific and technological tasks, promoting a virtuous interaction between independent innovation in technology and the independent cultivation of talent. In the process of constructing and developing national laboratories, national scientific research institutions, high-level research universities, and leading technology enterprises, we must focus on building high-level talent teams and strengthening the coordinated advancement of organized scientific research and systematic talent cultivation. We should strengthen original and pioneering scientific and technological breakthroughs. In the organization and implementation of major national scientific research tasks and the construction and operation of high-level scientific and technological infrastructure, we must take the gathering, cultivation, and utilization of first-class scientific and technological leading talent and innovation teams as important goals and content. We must promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, lead the construction of a modern industrial system, further strengthen the dominant position of enterprises in innovation, and cultivate a group of innovative and entrepreneurial talents and scientific and technological entrepreneurs who are courageous in forging ahead. We will advance the construction of international and regional scientific and technological innovation centers at a high level, creating world-important talent centers and innovation highlands.
(3) Take the integration of science and education and the integration of industry and education as the focal points to accelerate the improvement of cultivation models for talents in urgent demand. Centering on strategic fields of vital competition such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, quantum technology, and biotechnology, we will build a batch of high-level scientific research platforms and talent cultivation bases. Driven by scientific and technological innovation, industrial development, and national strategic needs, we will improve the mechanism for adjusting discipline settings and talent cultivation models in universities, layout urgently needed disciplines and majors with extraordinary measures, create first-class core curriculum materials and faculty teams, and strengthen the construction of basic, emerging, and interdisciplinary subjects as well as the cultivation of top-notch talents. We will strengthen the continuous cultivation from undergraduate to master's and doctoral levels in key areas, making full use of emerging technical means such as artificial intelligence to empower scientific research and talent cultivation, and enhance the scientific thinking, innovative spirit, and practical ability of STEM talents. We will build strong national colleges of excellence for engineers, strengthen the cultivation of master’s and doctoral students in engineering, and promote the sharing of resources, joint construction of courses, and joint cultivation of talent between universities, enterprises, and research institutes.
(IV) Optimizing the systematic distribution of national strategic human resources to build a vanguard force capable of supporting high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology. We must discover and cultivate more high-level, interdisciplinary talents with the potential to become strategic scientists [5] within the practice of major national scientific and technological innovation, forming a developmental echelon for such scientists. Centering on key industries and fields, we shall organize collaborative research between industry, academia, and research institutes, optimize mechanisms for discovering leading talents and selecting project teams, and accelerate the concentration and support of first-class scientific and technological leaders and innovation teams. We will improve mechanisms for the discovery, selection, and cultivation of young talents, strengthen stable support for them during their early careers and over long cycles, and increase the degree of support for young talents across various science and technology plans, encouraging more outstanding youth to take on heavy responsibilities and play leading roles [6]. We shall explore the formation of an engineer training system with Chinese characteristics and world-class standards, striving to build a workforce of high-level engineers and "Great Country Craftsmen" [7] possessing outstanding innovation capabilities and the skill to solve complex engineering problems.
(V) Taking the reform of evaluation and incentive mechanisms as a breakthrough point to fully stimulate the sense of mission and innovative vitality of the broad masses of scientific and technological personnel in the construction of a strong nation. Using innovation capacity, quality, effectiveness, and contribution as evaluation orientations, we will deepen reforms in project review, institutional evaluation, talent assessment, and income distribution. We shall persist in both "breaking the four manias" [8] and "establishing new standards," perfecting a classified evaluation system that conforms to the laws of scientific research and the laws of talent growth. Effective measures will be taken to continuously deepen the governance of "hats" [9] in the scientific and educational circles, avoiding the simplistic practice of determining remuneration or allocating academic resources based solely on academic titles or talent designations. We will improve incentive systems such as scientific rewards, income distribution, and the granting of rights over research achievements [10], effectively reducing the non-academic burdens on researchers, strengthening care for their work and lives, and perfecting systems that guarantee they can focus on their research. We shall standardize and improve mechanisms for the orderly flow of talent, clear the channels for exchange between universities, research institutes, and enterprises, and promote the concentration of more high-level talents within enterprises. We will establish an immigration system for high-tech talents, improve support and security mechanisms for talents introduced from overseas, and attract and cultivate world-class talent. We must vigorously promote the "scientist spirit," consolidate a powerful spiritual force for serving the country through science and technology, and reinforce the value pursuit of daring to lead, scaling the heights [11], and striving for excellence within the scientific and educational communities, contributing more wisdom and strength to the great journey of Chinese-path modernization.
Source: People's Daily (December 26, 2025) Web Editor: Huihui