China’s Thousand Talents Plan
One of the great things the father of the Chinese miracle, Deng Xiaoping, did that his disciples have managed to continue is the desire for knowledge from all corners of the globe. He was the one who coined the phrase: “摸着石头过河” which translates to “cross the river by feeling the stones.” It denotes a scientific method of work, indicating a steady attitude of exploration in the face of new things.
It was also Deng who said that he does not care if a cat is black or white, what matters is that it can catch mice. This means that if Mao’s disastrous communist policies led to the collapse of the Chinese economy and tens of millions died of starvation, it makes no sense to insist on following them. It is also foolhardy to embrace capitalism without thinking. He did not care about ideology. He only embraced whatever brought prosperity.
Starting in 1978, Deng sent his lieutenants all over the world to study what works and come home to implement it. What we see in China today is the brainchild of that idea from the great market-oriented man.
In 2008, President Hu Jintao took it a step further and set up China’s Thousand Talents program. This program aims to improve China’s status as a hub for scientific research and innovation by providing competitive salaries, generous grants, and faculty appointments to Chinese researchers and entrepreneurs living abroad.
Many Chinese students often go abroad for advanced studies, and the vast majority decide to remain abroad after their studies. To reverse this trend and build the size and prestige of China’s university system, the central government recognized the need and turned to attracting overseas Chinese and top foreign-born talent from the world’s best universities.
Between 2011 and 2017, the Young Thousand Talents (YTT) branch of the broader program offered grants to more than 3,000 researchers.
When it is reported that China has some of the best innovation talent in the world, it is not a fluke. It is a deliberate effort by the government to bring back its best talent. Scholars receive significant support, as a study found that Chinese scientists who returned to their home country after getting their PhDs overseas published more papers than their colleagues who remained abroad.
The effect was particularly pronounced among biologists, chemists, and medical researchers, with the program especially benefiting “young expatriates who had the capability but not the funding to run their own labs for independent research.”
As with individuals, progress for countries is deliberate.
