Sun Rui: Leading and Driving Chinese Modernization with Talent
Talent is the key support for modernization. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC [1] dedicated a specific chapter to pointing out that education, science and technology, and talent are the foundational and strategic supports for building a modern socialist country in all respects. We must persist in the view that science and technology are the primary productive forces, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driver. We must deeply implement the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the transition to a talent-strong country strategy, and the innovation-driven development strategy. We must open up new fields and tracks for development, and constantly shape new momentum and new advantages for development.
On the new journey, talent work and the New Era talent-strong country strategy have been elevated to an even more prominent position, providing powerful momentum and strategic guidance for opening a new chapter in China's talent work in the future.
The series of deployments regarding talent work at the 20th National Congress—taking a higher stance, a larger perspective, and a broader vision—has further resolved questions concerning the role and positioning of talent work, the value orientation of talent development, and the integrated coordination of education, science, and talent. This has formed a multidimensional structural framework for talent work that links external expression, internal architecture, and underlying logic. This marks that the New Era talent-strong country strategy system has become more complete and mature, with strategic arrangements and target tasks becoming clearer and more distinct. Our country has entered a new stage of strategic implementation in building a world-class talent-strong country.
Reifying Talent Support through a "Trinity"
For the first time, the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC planned education, science and technology, and talent work collectively under a single high-level heading, taking "strengthening the talent support for modernization" as the ultimate objective. This forms an organic, integrated "trinity" [2] strategic system oriented toward the highest strategic goals and conducive to promoting Chinese-path modernization.
The report to the 18th National Congress of the CPC presented the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the talent-strong country strategy, and the innovation-driven development strategy in parallel, representing a major transformation and upgrade of national-level development strategies. The report to the 19th National Congress continued this parallel presentation, placing these three strategies at the forefront of the Seven Great National Strategies for finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
The report to the 20th National Congress further integrated the discussion, planning, and deployment of education, science and technology, and talent work—which previously fell under the separate domains of social construction, economic construction, and Party building. This reflects strategic thinking and systemic consideration at a higher level and reflects new ideas and concepts for the systemic integration and synergistic resonance of these three strategies to jointly shape new momentum and advantages for development.
Education, science and technology, and talent work are mutually embedded, mutually reliant, and mutually supporting. To meet the nation's highest innovation goals, these three areas of work must form a collective force.
Regarding talent work, education is its "front end," capable of creating "potential talent" and forming a talent reservoir; innovation is its "back end," serving as one of the key efficiencies of talent work. There are talent issues within the field of education, such as the low quality of autonomous talent cultivation, the disconnection between the cultivation and utilization of engineering and technical talent, and the "Qian Xuesen Question" [3]. Simultaneously, there are talent issues in the field of science and technology, such as the insufficiency of basic research and high-end talent, and a dearth of talent capable of solving "0 to 1" [4] and "bottleneck" (kǎ bózǐ) [5] problems. These problems themselves are the key points and priority tasks that must be resolved and broken through in the field of talent work. The 20th National Congress’s integrated planning and holistic advancement of education, science and technology, and talent work is conducive to further promoting the deep integration of the innovation chain, the industrial chain, and the talent chain.
While proposing the "trinity" systemic layout, the report to the 20th National Congress moved the talent chapter forward. It elevated the positioning of talent work from a previous "guarantee factor" arrangement into the general framework of "productive force factors" for holistic consideration and linked deployment. This strengthens the economic attributes of talent work, bringing it more firmly into the core category of the Party and the state's central economic work. This means the strategic importance and priority of talent work in the overall work of the Party and the state have been further reinforced, setting the course and laying the layout for a future path of Chinese-path modernization driven and supported by talent.
The three major strategies—invigorating China through science and education, a talent-strong country, and innovation-driven development—jointly serve the construction of an innovative country. This further strengthens the systemic connection, integration, and construction of services for the nation's highest development goals, making it more conducive to forming an effective organization and implementation plan to better serve high-quality development and high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
Strengthening the Role of Talent as a Driver of Lead Development
The amendment to the Party Constitution, reviewed and adopted at the 20th National Congress, added the content "fully leverage the role of talent as the primary resource" to the thirteenth paragraph of the General Program. The weight of talent and talent work has been significantly increased, and its status substantially elevated.
Talent is the foundational and strategic resource for promoting high-quality development and high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening. Since the 18th National Congress, we have been accelerating the progression from "priority development of talent" to "talent-led development" and now to "talent-led driving" (réncái yǐnlǐng qūdòng).
In the "priority development of talent" stage, talent resources were placed on equal footing with financial and material resources, but talent resources were to "take a step ahead" of all other factor resources. Since the 2018 National Work Conference on Organizational Affairs proposed "talent-led development," talent resources have been placed ahead of all other types of resources, and the development of talent resources has occupied a leading position among all factors of economic and social development.
The transition from "priority development of talent" to "talent-led development," as well as the additions and reinforcements concerning talent work in the Party Constitution amendment, all reflect our Party's profound understanding of the key issues for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This is also a direct continuation of the Marxist view of persisting in the comprehensive development of the person.
The report to the 20th National Congress proposed for the first time the new phrasing "talent-led driving," the new orientation of "persisting in educating for the Party and cultivating talent for the country," and the new requirement of "persisting in grasping all aspects of talent together." It reaffirmed the series of strategic deployments to implement more proactive, open, and effective talent policies, focusing on creating top-notch innovative talent, "gathering the world's best and brightest and putting them to good use," and accelerating the construction of important world talent centers and innovation highlands.
Talent is the foundation of innovation. Whether it is achieving the goal of becoming a scientific and technological power or meeting the people's growing needs for a better life, there is an urgent need for wave after wave of top talent and high-quality laborers to emerge in service of the long-term development of the country and the nation. There is an urgent need to strengthen the leading and driving role of talent in socialist modernization.
"Talent-led driving" means significantly enhancing the leading and supporting role of talent resources in economic and social development, further increasing the contribution level of talent factors to economic and social development, and thereby achieving talent-led innovation drive, talent-led high-quality development, and talent-led Chinese-path modernization.
Educating for the Party and Cultivating Talent for the Country
Facing the new tasks and challenges of the New Era, the 20th National Congress and the 2021 Central Conference on Talent-Related Work [6] made great efforts to promote the resolution of the problems of "talent generalization," "talent ossification," and "talent transformation." It can be said that the connotation of "talent" in the New Era more prominently emphasizes professionalism, innovativeness, developmental potential, contribution, and leadership. The core essence of "talent" is to focus on the country's strategic breakthrough areas, to be capable of solving key practical problems, and to make creative contributions.
The report to the 20th National Congress further clarified the value orientation of talent cultivation: persist in educating for the Party and cultivating talent for the country, and guide the vast numbers of talent to love the Party and the country, to be professional and dedicated, and to serve the people. The talent community must keep "the country’s most fundamental interests" (guó zhī dà zhě) [7] in mind, taking the initiative to shoulder the responsibilities and missions bestowed by the New Era, and "write their papers on the soil of the motherland." They must use the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as their developmental compass to find their positioning, take action, and make contributions.
The priority talent groups of the New Era talent-strong country strategy are also being adjusted from the "six talent contingents" [8] framework proposed at the Second National Conference on Talent-Related Work to the "Strategic Talent Force" (zhànlüè réncái lìliàng) identified at the Central Conference on Talent-Related Work. The latter primarily refers to strategic scientists, leading scientific and technological talent and innovation teams, young scientific and technological talent, and outstanding engineers. Building on this, the 20th National Congress expanded the Strategic Talent Force to include masters, "Great Country Craftsmen" (dàguó gòngjiàng) [9], and high-skilled talent.
As the key talent targets required to achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, this clearly tiered array of talent contingents reflects the alignment and synergy between the talent-strong country strategy and the innovation-driven development strategy.
At the same time, "scientific and technological talent," who previously belonged to the system of professional and technical talent contingents, have not only been elevated to the primary position of "most important of the important" but have also been further subdivided into two categories: scientists and engineers.
Further focusing on key strategic talent groups and subdividing scientific and technological innovation talent reflects the state's deepening understanding and shifting focus regarding talent work in the New Era. This is conducive to further resolving problems such as the lack of precision in talent policy and the "pepper-sprinkling" (sǎ hújiāo miàn) [10] approach to talent investment, thereby better putting the role of "talent-led driving" into practice.
Simultaneously, China is also using a series of reforms to further integrate, optimize, and streamline talent engineering programs. This involves changing the practice of directly linking talent "titles" or "hats" [11] to material interests, breaking the ossified and rigid system of "talent," and promoting a talent system that more closely conforms to the internal laws of talent dynamics, development, and self-actualization.
At the implementation level, promoting talent transformation requires focusing on "three alignments":
First, alignment with the transition of growth drivers and industrial upgrading. Centered on innovation, we must accelerate the strategic adjustment of the talent structure and strive to increase the proportion of talent in new technologies, new industries, new business forms, new models, and new growth drivers.
Second, alignment with the layout and construction of key projects. We must accelerate the gathering of professional, high-level, and leading talent as well as talent and teams in urgent demand, striving to build a sound talent ecosystem and talent echelon system.
Third, alignment with talent development needs. Revolving around the comprehensive cultivation and utilization of talent, we must strive to create a soft and hard environment where excellent talent emerges freely, develops their careers, and where "those nearby are happy and those far away are attracted" (jìn yuè yuǎn lái) [12]. We must strive to improve the capacity and inclusivity for hosting first-class talent.
Improving the Strategic Layout of the Talent-Strong Country in the New Era
From the two National Conferences on Talent-Related Work to the Central Conference on Talent-Related Work and finally to the 20th National Congress, our country’s talent-strong country strategy and talent work system have been continuously improved, developed, and upgraded. This profoundly reflects the epochal, developmental, scientific, and hereditary nature of China’s talent work.
In the current context of great power competition, China's talent work and talent development face strategic pressure. We need to improve the strategic layout of the talent-strong country in the New Era as quickly as possible. By creating national talent development growth poles, hub ports, energy cores, bridgeheads, and source origins, we can use breakthroughs at specific points to trigger talent development fusion, fission, and "dimension-raising" (shēng wéi) reactions across the entire situation.
Improving the strategic layout of the talent-strong country in the New Era first requires improving the layout for the construction of "3+N" national talent highlands and talent platforms. The Central Committee has proposed: building high-level talent highlands in Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; and building platforms to attract and gather talent in several central cities where high-level talent is concentrated. For talent-centric cities, being selected as a talent highland platform is not only "providing charcoal in the snow" [13] but more importantly "adding flowers to the brocade" [14]. It means representing the country in global talent competition and creating leading areas and breakthrough points for talent development within the national talent strategic layout.
The construction of talent highlands and platforms has laid out a city talent development competition cluster at the national level, composed of a first tier and a second tier, forming a development pattern of free competition among platform entities.
Facing the future, the central cities undertaking the construction of "3+N" highland platforms need to have a larger development perspective. Based on their own resource endowments and target prospects—and facing the need to master the commanding heights, dominance, and initiative in global scientific and technological innovation and industrial development—they must proactively position and secure their place. They should make differentiated contributions and reflect unique values toward China's goal of building important world talent centers and innovation highlands.
In the next steps of talent work, we should deeply study and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC. Revolving around the construction of important world talent centers and innovation highlands, we must win national talent development competitiveness through the competitiveness of strategic supports, "wild-geese formation" (yànzhèn) [15] structures, strategic forces, and talent systems. By using breakthroughs at specific points to trigger talent fusion, fission, and overall reactions, we will further form a comparative advantage in international talent competition and forge a path toward a talent-strong country in the New Era that is advanced, scientific, and innovative.