'Introducing Foreign Talents', 20th Anniversary for Speech of Importance by Deng Xiaoping

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 09, 2003

'Introducing Foreign Talents', 20th Anniversary for Speech of Importance by Deng Xiaoping

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This day 20 years ago Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader widely acclaimed as the general architect for China's reform and opening-up, delivered a connotative and profoundly significant speech, which opened up a new chapter for China to usher in the intellects from the outside world.

In this speech Deng Xiaoping proposed explicitly that to take in foreign talents must be made a strategy and also a component part indispensable for the reform & opening up. Considering that China's modernization construction lacks experience and knowledge, he put forward several proposals. That is to make use of foreign intellects, to adopt flexible and multifarious ways for recruiting foreign talents, to boldly use foreign intellectuals by bringing their talents into full play, and to change the previous working style of providing "more banquets & hospitality while less consultation & help by them over the work".

It is quite rare for Comrade Deng Xiaoping to raise the new task to such a height and elaborate on it in such a meticulous way.

In early 1980s when China's reform & opening up for the cause of modernization construction had just been conducted onto a correct path, a lot of work was required to be taken up, and therefore all sorts of talents were called for urgently. However, due to the ten years' chaotic "Cultural Revolution", the scientific research undertakings were neglected with the then-existing store of knowledge becoming obsolete, and foreign exchanges suspended. Dislocation and faults of intellects henceforth emerged. Talent training is a long-term project, while the world science & technology are developing at a tremendous speed. China can't wait and then start the construction drive till the talents of her own are well prepared. So Comrade Deng Xiaoping called for earnestly that talents were the scarcest and most imperative resource for China's modernization drive, and that we must value knowledge, respect talents and make a bold use of them.

In the contemporary world, it is a universal practice to use foreign talents for the development of a country and also a shortcut to speed up the development of economy, science & technology and education. The former Soviet Union ushered in a great number of foreign experts when Lenin carried out the new economic policy and the construction of heavy industry after the October Revolution. The US is even better at absorbing and utilizing talents from around the world. Right after its establishment China also recruited many experts from the former Soviet Union and eastern European socialist countries, which bore fruitful results. Deng Xiaoping once said that the policy of mainly relying on ourselves didn't mean to reject foreign aid and that history and international experience told us we could never succeed in construction with our doors kept shut.

The scale of the intellectual soliciting work has been ever expanding in the past 20 years. China now take in over 400,000 person/time of foreign experts every year, increasing from the initial several hundred, and sends over 40,000 experts abroad for furthering training every year instead of a bit more than 600. All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country have unfolded the work of introducing foreign talents, coupled with an increasing diversification of the main body of intellect import and the further deepening of the management system reform for intellect importation.

Among thousands of foreign experts, a number of experts have made selfless contributions to China's economic and social development and achieved outstanding attainments. The international talent exchange has not only introduced foreign experts and scholars to China but also recruited numerous friendship envoys. More than 600 foreign experts from over 50 countries have been cited for their excellent service during the last 10 years.

After entering the new century the intellect solicitation work is now faced with rare opportunities for development. The central committee of the Party recently put forward the strategy of revitalizing China through talents and the principle of the Party administering talent work. The stress is laid on developing energetically and utilizing both the domestic and international talent markets plus talent resources in an effort to expand China's own talent contingent in order to build China into a modern and powerful country.

By PD Online Staff Zhu Lizhen

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