China's Future Have Talent, Will Thrive: Although the Chinese Clearly Consider the Development of Their Human Resources to Be a Key to Economic Development, The Details of the Path They Will Follow Remain Uncertain (Company Overview‪)‬

When China's leaders surveyed their development prospects at the onset of the 21st century, they reached an increasingly obvious conclusion: Their current economic development strategy, heavily dependent on natural resources, fossil fuel, exports based on cheap labor, and extensive capital investment, was no longer viable or attractive. For a range of pressing competitiveness, national security, and sustainability reasons, they decided to shift gears and as a result have embarked on an effort to move their country in the direction of building a "knowledge-based economy" in which innovation and talent are positioned as the primary drivers of enhanced economic performance. Their actions are driven by a rather pervasive sense of urgency about the need for China to catch up more quickly with the rest of the world, especially in terms of science and technology (S&T) capabilities. In fact, the top echelon of Chinese leaders, foremost among them both President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, has recognized that solving the country's talent issue is crucial to China's ability to cope with an increasingly competitive international environment; build a comprehensively well-off and harmonious society; and, more important, consolidate and fortify the ruling base of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China's leaders further understand that the successful creation and growth of a knowledge-based economy requires a greatly enhanced talent pool composed of high-quality scientists, engineers, and other professionals. Indeed, in fulfilling the policies of "revitalizing the nation with science, technology, and education" (kejiao xingguo) and "empowering the nation through talent" (rencai qiangguo), China has turned out millions of college students since 1999, especially in science and engineering, and more recently in management, to meet the country's new innovation imperatives. Government officials have tried to upgrade the existing Chinese S&T workforce by dispatching many talented individuals overseas for advanced training and research experience to expose them to international standards of world-class science and know-how. Today, it almost has become common practice, even for a large number of Chinese undergraduates, along with their counterparts at the graduate level, to obtain foreign study experience. Exposure to the outside world, particularly Western education and modern technology, appears to have stimulated entrepreneurial activities among many returning Chinese S&T personnel as they seek to harness their newly acquired know-how and convert it into new, commercially viable products and services. China also has encouraged multinational corporations (MNCs) to move up the value chain in their China operations, upgrading their manufacturing activities and adding a substantial R&D capability to their local presence in China. Meanwhile, MNCs are on the lookout for Chinese brainpower, thus creating the context for the possible emergence of talent wars in China.