Allegations that Nvidia has equipped H20 AI chips sold to China with “tracking and positioning” functions have led the Cyberspace Administration of China to demand an explanation from the U.S. tech giant.  While Nvidia may be able to address related concerns in this instance, Chinese leaders should have already been alarmed amidst fears about the potential use of imported chips and other high-tech products as a Trojan horse to undermine China’s security.

As China’s need for home-grown technologies and talent is more urgent than ever, a talent incubation program that has been implemented for more than ten years by Shenzhen-based drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (“DJI”) is likely to become an important model for replication in various high-tech industries.

China’s Talent Policy and Five-Year Plans

According to China’s 14th Five-Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development and Outline of the Long-Term Objectives for 2035 (“14th Five-Year Plan”), the country has set to accomplish various goals by 2035, including the goal to become a country that is strong in “culture, education, talent, and sports”.  Towards its goal of becoming a country that is strong in talent, China has identified multiple tasks, such as strengthening the training of top students in basic disciplines (e.g., mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology) and adopting talent-friendly policies to attract outstanding individuals from inside and outside China.

With respect to private enterprises, the 14th Five-Year Plan stresses the need to “protect, in accordance with law, entrepreneurs’ property rights and gains from innovations” and to “utilize the important role of entrepreneurs in grasping the direction of innovation, gathering talents, and raising funds”.

Since 2025 is the last year covered by the 14th Five-Year Plan, China is now preparing the next five-year plan, i.e., the 15th Five-Year Plan, to set goals for the country’s development from 2026 to 2030.  In an interview conducted by the official media, DONG Yu, Executive Vice President of Tsinghua University’s China Institute for Development Planning—a research institute jointly initiated by Tsinghua University and the National Development and Reform Commission—drew on his experiences in helping formulate several of the country’s five-year plans to highlight the focus of the 15th Five-Year Plan.

“[…], Mr. Dong shared his observation about how these trends will impact the development of science and technology.”

After pointing out that today’s “global governance structure faces greater instability” than five years ago and that “geopolitical conflicts and security risks will increase”, Mr. Dong shared his observation about how these trends will impact the development of science and technology.  He said:

We are currently at a stage where science and technology are going through a new round of revolution and breakthroughs in industrial transformation are accelerating, especially as artificial intelligence technology enters its full-scale application phase.  On the one hand, competition in basic research will intensify, potentially creating the impact of “choking” on us.  On the other hand, if we can achieve a deep integration of new technologies with industrial advantages, we may be able to seize the initiative in future global competition.

[emphasis added]

DJI’s Talent Incubation Program

No one is in a better position to help China “seize the initiative in future global competition” through “a deep integration of new technologies with industrial advantages” than private enterprises in high-tech industries because, as emphasized by the 14th Five-Year Plan, these enterprises can “grasp[] the direction of innovation, gather[] talents, and rais[e] funds”.

The value of private enterprises is best illustrated by DJI’s rapid rise.  Established in 2006, this young private company has gathered talents from different parts of the world and leveraged them to grasp the direction of innovation in the industries that develop drones and other flight control systems.  As a result, the company has impressive earnings.  In 2024, the company’s online store (dji.com) generated USD 114 million, with revenues expected to increase by 5-10% in 2025, based on established trends.

DJI’s ability to chart this winning course amidst fierce global competition is largely attributed to the company’s foresight to organize robotics competitions.  Beginning with a summer camp organized in 2013 for just 24 university students, DJI has gradually turned the summer camp into RoboMaster, “a platform for robotic competitions and academic exchange, specially designed for global technology enthusiasts”.

In just a dozen years, RoboMaster has attracted the participation of more than 100,000 students from hundreds of colleges/universities around the world.  DJI has established an “Exclusive Recruitment Channel” for these participants to apply to join the company.  To date, RoboMaster has supplied DJI with nearly 1,000 “innovative”, “persistent”, and “visionary” young engineers, whose innovations have significantly contributed to DJI’s dominance in the drone market.

Such dominance, however, has also drawn more scrutiny.  In the United States, due to security concerns about whether data collected by DJI drones could be accessed by Chinese authorities, the company is facing a real risk of losing the U.S. market, if related regulatory review does not proceed well.

“What is clear, however, is that the talent incubation approach tested by DJI will survive.”

It is unclear whether the potential loss of the U.S. market would eventually lead to the impact of “choking” on DJI.  What is clear, however, is that the talent incubation approach tested by DJI will survive.  Above all, this approach will likely be replicated in other high-tech industries to incubate more talents, who will be able to help achieve “a deep integration of new technologies with industrial advantages”.

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• The citation of this article is: The Editorial Board of SINOTALKS^®, AI Chips and China’s Talent Incubation, SINOTALKS.COM^®, SinoExpress™, Aug. 13, 2025, https://sinotalks.com/sinoexpress/ai-chip-talent. ↩︎

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