“What is the most expensive in the 21st century? Talents!” This is a classical line of Ge You (a famous Chinese actor) in the new year film A World Without Thieves released 14 years ago, which has also become a wonderful footnote for the current “War for Talents” in China’s major cities. As China’s economy enters a new normal, the declining demographic dividend has forced local governments to shift their focus to high-quality development and seeking for “talents” as an important driving force for economy. Since the beginning of 2017, many large and medium-sized cities such as Wuhan, Chengdu, Xi’an, Nanjing and Tianjin have introduced a series of measures such as “offering hukou (registered permanent residence in a city), granting housing subsidiary and giving money” to attract talents to settle down. Currently, the “War for Talents” is taking place among more than 20 cities in China, including even first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. In such context, Professor Liu Zhibiao, Dean of Yangtze IDEI, held in-depth discussions with relevant experts and scholars on the current “War of Scrambling for Talents” in China. They analyzed the background and motivation of the war among domestic cities, discussed the impact of the war on regional economic and social development, and proposed relevant suggestions on how to implement “Talent Strategy” more effectively.
