Guangdong's most distinctive advantage lies in the certainty of 'industrial talent retention'—where industries exist, talent remains; as industries upgrade, talent follows suit," stated Sun Zhiqiang, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of Guangzhou Risong Beidou Automotive Equipment Co., Ltd. With the 2026 National People's Congress approaching, Sun is focusing on talent system development in the smart manufacturing sector, proposing strategies to build a high-quality talent framework supporting intelligent manufacturing advancement.
Sun highlighted that a "dual shortage" in talent supply and demand is becoming a direct bottleneck constraining industrial upgrading. Companies urgently need interdisciplinary professionals skilled in both industrial AI models and manufacturing processes, while graduates from universities often lag behind industry requirements. To attract and retain talent, Sun suggested practical measures in three areas: housing security, evaluation incentives, and industry-education integration. These aim to create a high-efficiency ecosystem dynamically responsive to industrial changes and effectively stimulating talent value.
This year, Guangdong's "Millions of Talents Converge in South China" initiative featured specialized recruitment for clusters like "AI + robotics." Sun views this as essentially configuring talent chains with an industrial chain mindset, enabling talent to follow industries and industries to revolve around talent. "Orderly talent mobility within industrial chains is the most direct reflection of regional innovation vitality, ultimately benefiting the entire industrial cluster," Sun remarked.
Sun also addressed bottlenecks in commercializing scientific and technological achievements, noting low industrialization rates for academic research. "For emerging industries like robotics, embodied AI, and low-altitude economy, the scarcest resource isn't the technology itself, but real-world scenarios enabling rapid iteration," he explained. He proposed a "scenario-driven" approach to overcome conversion obstacles, recommending government policies such as scenario lists, shared technology platforms, and compensation for first-set equipment to ground technological innovations.
**Facilitating Orderly Talent Mobility Within Industrial Chains**
When asked about pain points in attracting and cultivating high-quality talent, Sun emphasized the acute mismatch between corporate needs and academic output. He proposed three solutions: establishing "green channels" for housing, children's education, and healthcare for紧缺 talent; breaking down evaluation barriers by creating diversified systems valuing innovation, capability, and contribution; and building industry-education integration platforms, like government-led "Future Smart Manufacturing Industry Colleges" in national advanced manufacturing clusters, to align talent training with actual needs.
Regarding Guangdong's cluster-based recruitment model, Sun identified three key benefits: reducing "supply-demand mismatch" by grouping related enterprises and job seekers, forcing precise talent training alignment by signaling industry needs to educational institutions, and expanding talent mobility channels. This orderly flow within industrial chains, he noted, enhances regional innovation and benefits entire clusters.
Discussing the "investing in people" strategy outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan proposals, Sun described it as a profound shift in national development paradigm—from "material accumulation" to "human development." This transformation activates domestic demand cycles by increasing disposable income through skill upgrades, shifting consumption from survival to development-oriented, and forms a virtuous cycle of income growth, consumption upgrade, and economic circulation. It also supports industrial upgrading by cultivating interdisciplinary talent critical to overcoming supply-side constraints.
This shift will compel enterprises to rethink development strategies and talent philosophies, transitioning from "emphasizing assets over people" to "mutual advancement," and from viewing employees as "costs" to "capital." Companies must build empowerment systems, clear career paths, and caring mechanisms to sustain competitive advantage.
**Scenario-Driven Approach to Overcome Conversion Bottlenecks**
On the popularity of "New Guangdong Goods" like industrial and embodied AI robots, Sun attributed their success to Guangdong's robust manufacturing foundation, which injects unique competitiveness. Advantages include "Guangdong speed" supply chain efficiency with comprehensive industrial coverage, deep validation from "super scenarios" provided by leading industries like electronics and automotive, and mature global networks facilitating international expansion through integrated product-service-ecosystem models.
As China's robotics industry shifts from scale expansion to value competition, Sun suggested governments create institutional environments that "manage low-end competition, encourage high-end breakthroughs, and empower differentiated development." This involves establishing screening mechanisms to concentrate resources on quality enterprises, building shared testing and verification platforms to lower innovation barriers, and publishing application scenario opportunity lists coupled with insurance compensation for first-set equipment to encourage adoption.
Regarding low commercialization rates for academic research, Sun identified the "pilot testing vacuum" and "scenario gap" between labs and production lines as critical bottlenecks. Disconnects between research and industry needs, high risks in pilot testing stages, and institutional conflicts in managing state-owned scientific assets hinder progress. He emphasized that emerging industries most need real-world scenarios for rapid iteration rather than the technology itself.
To implement a "scenario-driven" strategy, Sun recommended that policies bridge technology and industry by identifying high-value smart manufacturing scenarios, establishing demonstration lines and validation platforms within national clusters, and providing subsidies for enterprises opening production lines to new technology verification. Insurance compensation for first-set equipment would mitigate risks, addressing concerns about high trial costs and uncertain returns.