The Chinese government announced plans in May to promote innovation-driven development, with the aim of becoming an "innovative nation" by 2020, an international leader in innovation by 2030, and a scientific and technological powerhouse by 2050. As the country's economy shifts from manufacturing to innovation-driven technology, demand for talented workers will continue to rise.
However, since 2012, there has been a steady decline in the size of the working-age population, with the biggest drop coming last year with a 4.87 million fall to 911 million. Competition for skilled workers in China will thus continue to intensify, especially in industries such as e-commerce, high-tech, software development, mobile applications and digital entertainment where many domestic companies have been growing rapidly.
