China has vowed to increase its talent pool from 114 million to 180 million by 2020, with spending on human resources accounting for up to 15 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The pledge was included in the National Outline for Medium- and Long-Term Talent Development (2010-2020) released on Sunday.

According to the outline, "talent" refers to those with certain professional knowledge or special skills, who are able to do "creative" work and make a contribution to society.

The outline, a leading document for reform of the country's human resources and development over the next 10 years, addresses issues ranging from the evaluation and management of talent, skilled personnel in rural regions and professional social workers in communities to returned overseas Chinese.

The outline also specified the key fields that should be prioritized to promote a more reasonable structure of talent.

By 2020, more than 5 million talented individuals will be urgently needed in equipment manufacturing, information technology, biotechnology, new materials, aeronautics and astronautics, oceanography, finance and accounting, international business, environmental protection, energy resources, agriculture technology, and modern traffic and transportation.

In the coming 10 years, more than 7 million professionals will be needed in the fields of education, political science and law, medicine and health, publicity and cultural information, as well as disaster prevention.

The country's human resources structure needs more education-conscious talent, with 20 percent of the labor force receiving higher education, the outline said.

Every 10,000 people in the labor force should include 43 professionals working on research and development (R&D), it said. Insiders said earlier that the country's spending on R&D is currently 1.62 percent of its GDP and that figure will increase to 2.5 percent in 2020.

In 2020, the country will complete its transition from a labor-intensive nation to one that is driven by talent, President Hu Jintao said at a national talent work conference on May 26.

(China Daily June 7, 2010)