HUANG Shisong: “Investing in People” — A Dual-Engine Approach to Cultivating New Quality Productive Forces and Responding to Public Needs

“Investing in people” is essential for cultivating new quality productive forces. A country’s level of technological innovation is typically positively correlated with the level of its human capital. Developing modern industrial systems such as artificial intelligence requires addressing the shortcomings in human resource investment and establishing a long-term, stable, inclusive, and dynamic human capital investment mechanism. This calls for an emphasis on “investing in people”—placing greater importance on the comprehensive improvement of individual capabilities and shifting the focus from “labor” to “talent”.

Highlighting “investing in people” is also a proactive response to public needs. As China has entered a stage of moderate population aging, emphasizing this investment can better meet current societal demands. It not only helps counter the challenges posed by a declining demographic dividend—for instance, by boosting labor productivity through vocational training—but also fosters new drivers of consumption. For example, by establishing and improving a long-term care insurance system, it enhances the spending capacity of groups such as the disabled elderly, thereby unlocking the potential demand for long-term care services.

(The above is a translated summary of views expressed by HUANG Shisong, Senior Research Fellow at the National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China, during an interview with the Overseas Edition of People’s Daily)

Original article link: https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/pc/content/202505/15/content_30073182.html

Translator: ZHANG Yuqing

Editor: LIU Qi