The “High-end Foreign Experts Recruitment Plan” is a new programme launched for the first time in 2019 by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), with the objective of introducing in China a batch of high-level foreign experts in key priority fields, so to contribute to the country’s sci-tech innovation development. The Plan merges other similar programmes previously managed by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA), which have now ceased to exist following SAFEA’s integration within MOST in March 2018.
Guiding principles for recruitment
The recruitment of high-end foreign experts should take into account the three following principles:
- Serving of national major strategic needs: recruited experts should contribute to the country’s strategies, to the development of key priority industries, and to the establishment of world-class universities and research structures. For this reason, recruited experts will be encouraged to participate actively in national science, technology and innovation projects.
- Focus on leading, qualified and urgently-needed talents (gao jing jian que): the recruitment will focus on experts possessing strong capacities for indigenous innovation and with the potential to achieve major technology breakthroughs, as well as senior managers and entrepreneurs with global vision and expansion capacity. Young talents and innovation teams will also be encouraged, particularly those within areas where there is talent-shortage.
- Persistence on project result performance: establishment of a project evaluation system to assess the quality, performance and contribution brought by the foreign expert to the local science and technology ecosystem, economy, society, and culture.
Specific areas supported for recruitment
In 2019, the High-end Foreign Experts Recruitment Plan will support the recruitment of four main categories of foreign experts:
- Strategic technology development: experts and teams involved in indigenous and pioneering research, development and innovation in key core technologies and with the capacity of solving major bottlenecks. This category of projects will receive the strongest support.
- Industrial technology innovation: technology experts involved in industrial upgrading and transformation, innovative design, and in implementing ‘go global’ expansion strategies. Priority will be granted to experts engaged in multinational operations and intercultural management, as well as those involved in strategic planning.
- Social and ecological construction: experts with solid experience in social and ecological construction, with the capabilities of pushing forward China’s green and sustainable development especially in health, society, law and regulation, languages, cultural industries, and modern services.
- Agriculture and rural revitalisation: experts with solid experience in implementing successfully rural development and poverty-alleviation strategies, and who can introduce in China advanced foreign breeding varieties, technologies, production safety and testing technologies, and management models.
Requirements
The recruiting entity should be an enterprise, research structure or university registered and with legal personality in mainland China.
The recruited expert or team should meet at least one of the following requirements:
- Hold a post equivalent to associate professor in a globally-renowned foreign university or research institute
- Hold a senior management or senior technology position in an internationally-renowned enterprise or firm
- Entrepreneurs with indigenous IPR or mastering key core technologies
- Other high-level foreign experts and young experts urgently needed by the country.
Recruited foreign experts are strongly encouraged to remain in China long-term.
Method of application
Applications are first submitted online by the recruiting entity on the Foreign Expert Project Management System. Hard copy versions should then be submitted to the office indicated in the original call in Chinese (link below).
Date of publication
30 January 2020
Deadline for application
15 March 2020
Useful links
- Bases and Talents Programme
- International cooperation