China lags behind the United States, South Korea, Japan and Singapore in terms of globally competitive talent and faces stiff rivalry from other major economies in retaining experts in artificial intelligence , according to a new report.
The report highlighted significant weaknesses in the effectiveness and quality of Chinese talent – a blow to Beijing’s goals of turning the country into a hub for top-tier professionals and achieving technological independence . “This shows there are still barriers in China that hinder talent from making full use of its potential,” the report said.
Bolstering global competitiveness is critical for China’s sustainable economic development, especially when the digital economy and AI are becoming new engines for growth. In last year’s 14th five-year plan for 2021-25, China vowed to cultivate more top scientists and engineers to lead innovation.R&D investment rose 14.2 per cent to 2.78 trillion yuan last year and Xi’s 20th party congress report said the country has the largest number of R&D workers in the world.