China is facing a daunting challenge to consolidate its talent pool as it still lags behind the United States significantly in core technology and basic research, Wang Hong, President and Professor of Management at the Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) said. “China leads the world in the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates, because of our large population. By 2025, China’s talent pool is expected to reach twice that of the U.S. But we should see the problem that ‘the talent is large in number but not strong enough’ still exists in key technology and basic research areas.” China is projected to produce over 77,000 STEM PhD graduates per year by 2025, compared to around 40,000 in the U.S., according to a report by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, a think tank based at Georgetown University.
But despite the large talent pool, Wang said there is still a considerable gap between China and the U.S. in artificial intelligence (AI) and new materials talent, as well as the ability to convert basic research into direct productivity and high-end manufacturing. China lacks mid- to high-end talent in artificial intelligence (AI), which is equivalent to only 20% of the U.S., added Wang.
According to a report released earlier this year by the Institute of China’s Science, Technology and Education Policy at Zhejiang University, China is facing a talent shortage in AI of more than 5 million people, a figure which is estimated will double by 2025. In addition to the lack of talent in specific industries, the innovative, high-level, integrated and industrial talent is very limited in China, according to Wang. From 2012 to 2022, China’s ranking on the Global Innovation Index has seen a dramatic rise from 34 to 11, while China also sits at the top of the upper-middle income group. However, China is still facing many “bottleneck problems” in achieving high-quality innovation, the South China Morning Post reports. China’s total investment in research and development (R&D) reached CNY2.8 trillion in 2021, up by 14.6% from the previous year, ranking second in the world, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
