Cultivating success: China's strategic approach to education

Editor's note: As the annual Two Sessions commences, CGTN's Visionary Voices launches the "Global Think Tanks Unpack China Agenda 2025" series. Authored by experts from think tanks worldwide, these articles offer cutting-edge analysis of China's advancements in fields spanning economy, technology, rural revitalization and cultural innovation. Each piece demystifies China's growth trajectory while illuminating its global significance. The fourth article explores China's talent training system and the improvement of its innovation capabilities. Seymur Mammadov, the author of this article, is an Azerbaijani journalist and a member of the country's think tank EurAsiaAz. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Education is the foundation of everything. A high-quality education serves as the cornerstone for both individual and national development. In China, education and the cultivation of talent have been a priority since ancient times, and today, there is an abundance of evidence proving that this strategy has fully justified itself.

For the Chinese nation, education is an integral part of sustainable civilizational development. Systematic official programs for gifted children were introduced into Chinese schools in 1978 as part of the modernization efforts undertaken by the People's Republic of China at the time. The goal was to catch up with the developed world. Two key aspects were implemented in the education of gifted children. First, improved and more substantiated methods for identifying talented students were adopted, particularly focusing on children from rural areas. Second, specialized programs were developed to help gifted students and support their growth.

China placed a strong emphasis on developing scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematical skills. In the following years, this approach became the main regulatory framework for the curriculum. However, as the country evolved and English-language education gained popularity, new elements were introduced – Western psychological and pedagogical approaches began to be more widely applied in China. These changes also affected the education of gifted children.

The current strategy of the Chinese government in education is to "focus on improving the innovative capabilities of talent and optimizing the structure of higher education."

Today, new technologies are setting the agenda. In 2017, China announced its ambition to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). Since then, more than 500 Chinese universities and colleges have introduced AI specializations.

At the end of last year, China's Ministry of Education called for the inclusion of AI in school curricula. The presence of AI courses is now considered in school evaluations. The goal is for students to develop a basic understanding of AI in primary school and to begin applying the technology by the end of elementary school. It may sound incredible, but China has already begun using AI to select students for classroom participation. Neural networks help identify students who are less prepared for the lesson, ensuring that they are called upon more frequently to encourage engagement. This serves as a unique method of motivating struggling students to study harder and unlock their hidden potential.


Students use virtual reality headsets in a class at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in south China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, April 9, 2024. /CFP

Chinese youth have made significant strides in acquiring knowledge, thanks to a unique education system that prioritizes not just the identification of talent, but also its cultivation. In China, it is believed that anyone can achieve success through diligent study and hard work. This approach enables young people to discover their hidden talents and develop them in alignment with their vision for the future. The new generation of talent emerging from this educational environment is already playing a crucial role in China's response to social, economic, and technological challenges.

This methodology has proven effective. A prime example is the Chinese AI model DeepSeek. Many may not realize that the team behind this globally renowned product consists of young graduates from China's top universities rather than foreign specialists or Oxford alumni. Leading institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Sun Yat-sen University played a crucial role in shaping these experts. Furthermore, when recruiting talent, DeepSeek prioritizes technical skills and abilities over professional experience. In other words, a candidate may have no prior work experience in the field but demonstrate strong aptitude, which is given primary consideration. According to available data, the DeepSeek team comprises just over 130 people, yet they have managed to develop products that are globally competitive.

On January 27, the release of China's DeepSeek R1, a powerful reasoning model built for solving tasks caused a major stir when it led to a drop in the stock prices of Western tech giants, overtaking OpenAI's ChatGPT to become the most downloaded free app in Apple's App Store in the U.S. Experts note that a key advantage of Chinese AI is its significantly lower development costs and its ability to function efficiently even on less advanced chips.


A television screen broadcasts DeepSeek news at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S., January 27, 2025. /CFP

China has achieved impressive success in scientific and technological development largely due to its consistent talent management policies. In 2008, the Chinese government launched its ambitious "Thousand Talents" program. Through this initiative, thousands of scientists who had built successful careers in the U.S. and Europe returned to China. The government created university departments and laboratories specifically for them, offering salaries on a par with those in the U.S. In 2023, China launched the "Qiming" initiative, also aimed at attracting talent, though with less public visibility. Available information suggests that the program focuses on specialists in advanced manufacturing and aerospace technologies, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, new semiconductor materials, energy conservation and new energy, finance, medicine, and biomedicine. Most candidates selected for the "Qiming" program have studied at leading U.S. universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Stanford University, and hold doctoral degrees.

In developing its talent pool, China has not isolated itself. Today, the Chinese education system attracts thousands of international students, fostering cross-cultural exchanges. Emphasis is placed on cultivating innovative capabilities and critical thinking, ensuring the smooth implementation of future educational reforms while enhancing the international outlook and competitiveness of its talent.

Leading Chinese corporations are also investing in talent development. For instance, Alibaba has launched a transformative talent development program and has partnered with 100 educational institutions worldwide with the goal of cultivating 50,000 scientific talents within three years. Similarly, corporate giant Huawei has established dozens of training centers worldwide, offering scholarships and internships to outstanding students to attract and develop top-tier talent.

The Chinese government strongly supports international cooperation in the field of "new talent." In October last year, Beijing hosted the 2024 China-Europe Talent Forum, where several collaborative projects on talent development were implemented. Leveraging the "Contact with Beijing: Global Innovation Service Network" platform, the Beijing Overseas High-Level Talent Center, in cooperation with Xicheng District, established the China-Europe Innovation Center. Additionally, the Beijing University and Swiss Adecco Group's practical training base has enhanced the mechanism for international talent development, ensuring strong university-enterprise collaboration to support outstanding students in their global career aspirations.

It is worth noting that in 2024, Beijing ranked fifth in the Global Talent Retention Index for cities. China remains steadfast on its chosen path, ensuring a strong and promising future for both the Chinese state and its people.