Chinese tech giants ramp up AI talent recruitment amid surging demand
发布日期：2025-06-16 09:11:40 点击量：16次
In a bid to gain an edge in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, Chinese tech companies are significantly expanding their recruitment of AI talent. As AI becomes a cornerstone of economic transformation, the race for talent reflects China's high-quality economic growth and digital transformation, a Chinese expert said.
Baidu, for instance, has announced its largest-ever AI talent hiring program to recruit top AI professionals, with a 60-percent increase in positions compared with last year, the Jiefang Daily reported on Sunday. The program covers 23 core businesses and 11 research areas, focusing on cutting-edge AI fields such as large language model algorithms, machine learning and speech technology. To recruit top campus talent, the program offers salaries with no upper limit.
Robin Li, the founder of Baidu, announced in April that over the next five years, efforts will be stepped up to cultivate an additional 10 million AI professionals for society, according to the report.
Many other internet companies have also launched AI talent recruitment campaigns, highlighting the industry's urgent demand for such professionals, according to the Economic Information Daily.
Alibaba's 2026 spring recruitment drive is another testament to the escalating competition for AI talent, with nearly 50 percent of the total positions on offer related to AI, according to the report.
JD.com has joined the fray by launching a "top young tech genius program," which targets undergraduate, master's and doctoral students from around the world, as well as young professionals within two years after graduation. Midea Group, a major player in the manufacturing sector, has also been actively hiring AI experts for its robotics, energy storage and smart home initiatives. From January to April this year, Midea recruited nearly 1,000 people in AI-related fields, according to the report.
Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that the booming demand for AI talent stems from the technology's role as a key driver for high-quality economic growth and digital transformation. As AI permeates various industries, companies are racing to introduce AI technologies to accelerate innovation, optimize operations and enhance product quality.
"To stay competitive in the market, companies need to quickly acquire AI talent to drive technological innovation and product upgrades," Wang said. He also pointed out that the requirements for AI professionals have evolved beyond technical skills; employers now seek individuals with strong cross-departmental collaboration, communication and commercial understanding abilities.
Liu Dingding, an internet industry expert, highlighted the significant gap between the supply and demand of AI talent.
"The explosive growth of AI in recent years has outpaced the traditional talent cultivation system," Liu said. "This has led to a talent crunch, prompting companies to offer lucrative salaries and benefits to attract scarce talent," Liu told the Global Times on Sunday.
China has more than 4,500 AI companies, with its core AI industries valued at nearly 600 billion yuan ($83.41 billion), the China Internet Network Information Center said in a report on generative AI, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
With an industrial chain spanning chips, algorithms, data, platforms and applications in the country, AI has emerged as a key driver of new industrialization, generating an enormous and ever-increasing demand for talent, according to the report.
AI-related positions are currently the most talent-starved in China, with a supply-demand ratio well below 1.0, according to professional networking platform Maimai. For specialized roles in cloud computing and deep learning, the ratio drops as low as 0.27.
McKinsey & Company forecasts that China will require 6 million AI professionals by 2030, but could face a shortfall of 4 million.
To address the widening talent gap, China's educational institutions and industry leaders are stepping up their efforts.
More than 500 universities now offer AI-related majors or have launched dedicated schools related to the field. Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China included AI in their 2025 enrollment expansion plans, and Nankai University introduced more than 130 specialized courses under its AI talent development initiative last year, according to Xinhua.
China's Ministry of Education recently urged universities and enterprises to collaborate on AI talent development programs, emphasizing practical, interdisciplinary and industry-aligned training. The move aims to assist employers in cultivating and recruiting more practical, composite and urgently needed AI application experts, and promote the supply-demand docking of professionals between universities and enterprises.
Accelerating AI talent cultivation requires collaborative efforts from enterprises, universities, and society to promptly align with the rapid technological advancements in AI, Liu said.
"Universities and companies should strengthen collaboration to align academic curricula with industry needs. This should include co-designing courses, establishing joint internship programs, and developing industry-oriented research projects," Wang said.
