Strategy of Making the Country Powerful Through Talents

This is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council based on the profoundly changing reality of the contemporary world and China and in accordance with the urgent requirements of the development of the Party and the country. In the great cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, we shall take talents as a key factor in promoting the development of the cause, strive to create hundreds of millions of high-quality workers, tens of millions of specialized talents, and a large number of top-notch innovative talents, build large-scale and high-quality talent teams with reasonable structure, create a new situation where talents come out in large numbers and tap full potential of their talents, and transform China from a populous country to a talent-rich country. The strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development is based on Deng Xiaoping’s thoughts on “respecting knowledge and respecting talents”. In 1977, when Deng Xiaoping summed up the experience and lessons in dealing with the issue of knowledge and talents, he said: “We must create an atmosphere in the Party: namely respecting knowledge and talents. We must oppose the wrong thoughts of disrespect for intellectuals.”

After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, he again regarded talents as the key to the success of the reform. He emphasized: “The most important thing to reform the economic system, and what I care about most, is talents. To reform the technological system, what I care most about is talents.” He repeatedly reiterated the talent view of “having both political integrity and professional competence” and “being both socialist-minded and professionally competent”. Deng Xiaoping’s views on talents provide a theoretical basis and strategic decision-making basis for the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development. In December 2003, the “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Further Strengthening Talent Work” issued by the CPC Central Committee stated that, the implementation of the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development is a major and urgent task for the Party and the country, further clarified the importance of China's talent work in the new century and new stage, comprehensively deployed the fundamental tasks of talent work, and formulated a series of relevant guidelines and policies.

The 17th CPC National Congress took the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development as one of the three basic strategies for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. The 18th CPC National Congress linked the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development with the building of a well-off society in an all-round way and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, bringing the implementation of the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development into a new stage of comprehensive advancement. The report of the 19th CPC National Congress further linked the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resource development with the decisive period for building a well-off society in all respects, emphasizing that “talents are the strategic resources for realizing national rejuvenation and winning international competition. We must adhere to the principle of the Party’s management of talents, gather and make full use of talents from all over the world, and accelerate the building of a talent-rich country.”