Unveiling China’s Top Ten Talent Trends for 2025

As China continues to redefine its economic and industrial landscape, the talent market is undergoing corresponding changes. From the emergence of the Greater Bay Area as a global hub for financial services, to the rising prominence of smart manufacturing, the nation is navigating challenges and opportunities with a clear focus on innovation and adaptability. 

 

In this article, we delve into the top ten talent trends shaping China in 2025. Discover how sectors like AI, smart manufacturing, and digitalisation are transforming the job market, how changing values among millennials and Gen Z are reshaping workplace dynamics, and why diversity, inclusion, and cross-cultural competence are now essential in a rapidly globalising world.  

 

Read on to understand the shifts that will define China’s workforce in 2025. 

 

 

Almost six years on from its incorporation into China’s national development strategy, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is entering an exciting phase of development. After achieving a GDP of over 13.6 trillion yuan in 2023 (1) and maintaining a robust trajectory in 2024, the GBA has become an enticing location for China’s banking and financial services organisations to establish global operation centres focusing on cost control and digital transformation. As a result, 2025 is expected to see a profound increase in demand for IT, operations, KYC, client service, and risk control candidates. In addition, the GBA is among a number of areas – including Beijing and Shanghai – in which small, regional corporate banks are opening new offices. Bucking the trend for headcount freezes set by larger banks, this is fuelling talent movement across front, middle, and back-office roles. 

 

 

 

The astronomical rise in smart manufacturing provides a much-needed boost to China’s engineering industry, and with plans to double Beijing’s smart factories and digital workshops by 2026, and Shanghai’s smart factories seeing production efficiency increase by 50 per cent (2), it shows no signs of abating. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China recently released the "National Intelligent Manufacturing Standard System Construction Guide (2024)" (Draft for Comments) on December 2nd , aiming to publicly solicit opinions with the goal of promoting the high-quality development of intelligent manufacturing. As a result, 2025 will see significant increases in innovation in areas including new energy vehicles, semiconductors, and lithium batteries, meaning that talent will need to be sourced, creating competition for top-tier candidates with experience in these booming fields. 

 

In addition to the domestic market, the development of intelligent manufacturing has also driven overseas expansion and investment. Furthermore, as China continues to export high-end manufacturing supply chain talent to Southeast Asia, there is a strong demand for professionals who are multilingual and can adapt to flexible working locations. 

 

 

With technology advancements and shifting consumer demands, brands in the consumer sector are facing a new round of competition and challenges. According to relevant data, the Generation Z population (born between 1995 and 2009) numbers 260 million, with an annual consumer expenditure of nearly 5 trillion yuan, becoming the main drivers of consumption trends. Compared to previous trends that focused more on functionality, Generation Z's attention to emotion, culture, environment, and health has spurred innovation and investment in related products and services. In addition, companies will increasingly utilise big data, AI, and IoT to optimize supply chains, enhance customer experiences, and conduct precision marketing, thus creating a demand for talent with experience in these areas. 

 

 

It is increasingly apparent that new technologies such as generative artificial intelligence are set to enhance financial management efficiency, and new-generation AI technologies have already seen substantial application in areas like financial reporting, treasury, and compliance. As a result, financial professionals increasingly need to be skilled in technical and data analysis in order to adapt to the fast-paced development of financial intelligence. 

 
In addition, policy has played a significant role in promoting finance digital transformation, with the government in 2024 issuing the revised "Enterprise Accounting Information Work Standards," leading to a noticeable increase in the development of financial shared service centers. This requires candidates to be increasingly openminded towards new technologies and embrace the changes that these entail. Candidates with strong data analysis capabilities, the ability to quickly learn necessary systems, and cross-departmental coordination skills will have a competitive edge. 

 

 

Following nearly four decades of uninterrupted dynamic commercial growth, in part powered by relentless working schedules, the relative economic slowdown has prompted Millennials and Generation Z to reconsider what they want from their employer. With lower expectations of their future earning power, these younger members of the workforce care more about their work-life balance, the significance of their work, and company stability. The latter is proving to be a particularly forceful driver, with candidates showing a preference for domestic companies, requiring international organisations to demonstrate that they can provide the necessary cultural environment. This will prove to be essential, as overseas companies are targeting younger talent, particularly those with up to five years of experience in digital technology. 

 

Data, delivery and diversification; the slowing down of SCP  
 

The supply chain and procurement (SCP) sector has undergone a significant transformation over the past five years. With foreign clients diversifying their supply chain across ASEAN countries, and the economy less robust than it was prior to the pandemic, factories have lost many of their largest clients. As a result of this fragile marketplace, hiring is primarily driven by replacements. However, as the Chinese government continues to play a pivotal role in promoting and investing in digital transformation and digital infrastructure, and corporations increasingly deploy artificial intelligence in supply chains, recruitment is centring around candidates with skills in automation, digital tools and agile SCP processes. 

 

Furthermore, with numerous organisations looking to reduce costs and improve efficiency, many are turning to procurement functions, driving the necessity for professionals in the area. Candidates with industry knowledge are as expected, more competitive in the job market, and soft skills such as strategic supplier management and negotiation skills have become important, a situation expected to continue through 2025. 

 

 

 

Generative AI has gripped technology and engineering industries across China, leading to an outburst of investment. As a result, the talent to fill positions has built up from universities throughout the country, meaning that China now produces almost half the world’s top AI researchers, by some metrics surpassing the U.S. as the largest producer of AI talent (3).  AI is seen as crucial in driving digital transformation, while AI-generated content (AIGC) is increasingly utilised in industries nationwide. Demand for talent remains incredibly high – in the first quarter of 2024, job openings in AIGC more than tripled year-on-year (4) – which has led to significant increases in opportunities and compensation, particularly for those with experience in deep learning, engineering and machine learning.  

 

 

Ongoing trade frictions and geopolitical tensions between major economies led to a slowdown in global economic growth in 2024, putting pressure on global trade and investment. However, wealth management and private banking talent hiring for relationship managers, insurance specialists, investment counsellors and business development managers boomed, and this trend is expected to continue its strong momentum in the coming year. This is especially true for senior wealth management talent, relationship managers, and private banking professionals with strong ultra-high-net-worth customer resources. Those with well-rounded wealth management product knowledge, such as QDII, life insurance, family trust, and structure deposit, are in particular demand, and can thus expect increased base salaries, competitive pay structures, and other attractive incentives from the companies competing for their recruitment.  

 

 

 

The healthcare industry is still going through an adjustment period affected by volume-based procurement, with companies proactively readjusting their business operations and organizations to adapt to the new normal in the market. The overall recruitment market is trending towards stability, which also affects the lengthening of decision-making processes. Talent in the domestic medical marketing need to possess diversified skills and knowledge to cope with the constantly changing market environment and technological challenges. Interdisciplinary knowledge beyond professional backgrounds, digital marketing skills, and customer relationship management abilities are becoming important. Additionally, due to the strict regulatory oversight in the healthcare industry, the requirements for compliance awareness and regulatory knowledge among candidates will also increase. 

 

 

A growing number of China’s workforce believe that a company’s transparency of diversity and inclusion (D&I) standards is important when it comes to selecting an employer, and are increasingly evaluating companies based on their commitment to D&I. Partly due to a historical belief that recruitment opportunities were hindered by D&I related issues, candidates are increasingly using such policies as yardsticks by which they measure prospective employers. To ensure that they capture of the best talent, more and more companies are reflecting global trends by investing in balanced team building and gender diversity initiatives. Companies that encourage intergenerational collaboration that encourages open-mindedness, while installing cultural measurement plans to track progress, will be most successful. 

 

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