The Composition and Evolution of China’s High

This article provides an overview of the composition and evolution of China’s high-level talent programs in higher education. This article reviews key talent policies adopted by the Chinese government since the 1990s, using content analysis methods to identify policy characteristics and reform trends. Talent programs in China operate at four levels: the national level, provincial level, city level, and institutional level. The main objectives of China’s high-level talent programs are to support and promote the development of young talent and to encourage overseas scholars to return to China. China’s high-level talent programs have undergone various changes since 1993. The evolution is characterized by the following five major aspects: individual program optimization; replacement, integration, and separation; preventing overlapping funding; mitigating the unbalanced impact the programs have on higher education institutions across regions; and strengthening risk assessment for programs focused on attracting overseas talent. This article offers a comprehensive assessment of the talent programs implemented by Chinese universities and explores the key trends and content of recent policy changes