Does a talent crisis threaten China’s quantum ambitions? One Chinese expert thinks so

China has a critical need for top hi-tech talent, but must overcome internal risks that hinder inspiration and ingenuity, leading academic says

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The Zuchongzhi quantum computer.
Like other sciences, China’s tech sector faces challenges from a lack of talent as well as its own “involution”.
Photo: USTC

Published: 8:13pm, 24 Oct 2024Updated: 9:34pm, 24 Oct 2024

China urgently needs to develop elite talent in the field of quantum computing, according to a leading academic, who has warned that the hi-tech sector must avoid internal trends that strangle innovation.

Yu Dapeng, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said a lack of ingenuity was hindering China’s quantum computing development, despite the significant public funding poured into the strategically important sector.

The lack of innovation had two main causes: not enough emphasis on developing talent; and sporadic frenzies in research fields leading to nei juan, or involution, Yu was quoted as saying in a report by the Shanghai-based The Paper last week.

The term describes an internal entanglement that ultimately leads to a lack of progress or degeneration as resources are drained.

“The appraisal system for China’s researchers used to focus on papers they published. The actual engineering and technological talent themselves were considered relatively unimportant,” said Yu, who is also dean of the Shenzhen Institute of Quantum Science and Engineering.

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