China's Engineering Academy Widens Access for Private Sector Scientists With 19 Candidates

Private Company Researchers Compete for China's Top Engineering Honor

Nineteen leaders from private enterprises have been shortlisted for membership of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in its 2025 selection round, bringing researchers from companies including iFlyTek, CATL, BYD, Yiling Pharmaceutical and BGI Group into competition for China's highest honor for engineers and technologists.

The academy has 100 new seats available, its largest intake in a decade, with eight reserved specifically for private sector leaders. About 600 nominees are competing for membership. The record number of private enterprise candidates marks a widening of access to an institution that has traditionally drawn its members from universities, research institutes backed by the state and enterprises owned by the state.

As of August 22, 2025, the candidates include Hu Guoping of artificial intelligence company iFlyTek, Wu Kai of battery producer CATL, Lian Yubo of electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, Jia Zhenhua of Yiling Pharmaceutical and Xu Xun of genomics company BGI Group. Other candidates represent fields including artificial intelligence, new energy and biopharmaceuticals.

The Chinese Academy of Engineering, often compared with the United States National Academy of Engineering, is opening its doors broadly to private sector innovators for the first time. For scientists whose careers have developed outside the state system, the selection round offers a route to national recognition that was previously largely closed to them.

China's decision connects scientific prestige with a wider policy effort: bringing the research strengths of private businesses more fully into the country's technological development. The immediate opportunity is membership of an elite academy. The broader ambition is closer cooperation among companies, universities and government institutions.

What the Academy's Selection Rules Say

The academy's 2025 guidelines make researchers working inside technology companies a recruitment priority. The policy covers the people developing technologies within businesses, rather than treating universities and public research institutions as the main sources of engineering expertise.

The Chinese Academy of Engineering sets out that direction in its recruitment guidelines:

prioritize experts from leading tech companies, particularly the private sector

About 30 percent of candidates come from the front lines of corporate research. That category covers company research more broadly, while the eight reserved places specifically target leaders from private enterprises.

Eight seats out of 100 amount to 8 percent of the planned intake. With roughly 600 nominees competing for 100 places, there are about six nominees for every available seat. The 19 private sector candidates have reached the shortlist; final membership decisions have not yet been given.

Who the Private Sector Candidates Are

Hu Guoping's work at iFlyTek places artificial intelligence and speech recognition among the areas represented. Speech recognition allows computers to turn spoken words into information they can process, making it one of the technologies connecting advanced computing with everyday communication.

Wu Kai of CATL has been instrumental in China's rise to leadership in batteries for electric vehicles. Lian Yubo of BYD works at the forefront of automotive innovation and green energy solutions. Their inclusion brings two closely connected parts of the electric vehicle industry into the academy's recruitment drive: the batteries that store energy and the vehicles that use it.

Jia Zhenhua of Yiling Pharmaceutical represents advances in biopharmaceuticals and healthcare innovation. Xu Xun of BGI Group is a leading figure in genomics and biotechnology whose work has global influence. Genomics studies genetic information, a field with applications in biological research and healthcare.

The five candidates illustrate why the academy is looking more closely at business research. They are chief scientists and principal researchers as well as company leaders, with careers tied to developing technologies. Their nominations recognize scientific work taking place within commercial organizations.

Why Private Enterprise Matters to the Decision

China's private sector contributes more than 60 percent of gross domestic product and 80 percent of urban employment. Gross domestic product, or GDP, measures the value of goods and services produced in an economy. Those figures show how heavily China's output and city jobs depend on private businesses.

More than 55 million registered private enterprises account for over 92 percent of all businesses in China. Their economic presence is much larger than their traditional representation in the country's highest scientific institutions would suggest.

The academy's recruitment shift acknowledges that private companies are now at the forefront of technological innovation in several industries. Recognition through academy membership gives their researchers a more prominent place in the national scientific community.

For entrepreneurs and scientists, the policy sends a message that work conducted in a private company can contribute directly to national technological goals. It also connects professional recognition with the industries employing large numbers of people and investing in new products.

How the Shift Fits China's Innovation Drive

China leads or matches Western countries in electric vehicles, batteries and commercial nuclear power, while making rapid progress in robotics, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals and artificial intelligence. The academy's candidate list reflects several of those areas, especially batteries, vehicles, AI and biotechnology.

Government investment, strategic industrial policies and the growing capabilities of Chinese universities and companies have supported that progress. On measures including research and development spending, patent filings and scientific publications, China now rivals or surpasses the United States.

Research and development means the work of investigating ideas and turning them into useful technologies. Patents protect inventions, while scientific publications communicate research findings. Together, these measures describe different parts of the process through which knowledge becomes technology.

Bringing private sector leaders into the academy is expected to deepen cooperation and the exchange of knowledge among industry, universities and government. The practical aim is to connect the people making scientific advances with the institutions shaping national research priorities.

Academy recognition also gives more visibility to researchers whose achievements emerge from company laboratories. China's approach increasingly treats those laboratories as part of a wider national research effort, alongside universities and public institutions.

A Proposed Law Would Support Private Research

Chinese lawmakers are also advancing the country's first law specifically dedicated to promoting and protecting private enterprise. As of August 22, the draft private economy promotion law is under deliberation. Its goals include removing market barriers, ensuring fair competition and supporting innovation.

The draft defines the private sector as a vital pillar of the socialist market economy. It calls for equal access to industries unless a restriction appears on a negative list. In plain terms, a negative list identifies the activities that are restricted; businesses would have access to industries outside those limits.

The proposed law would strengthen intellectual property protection, simplify regulatory processes and encourage private companies to join national scientific and technological projects. Intellectual property protections cover creations such as inventions, helping businesses protect the results of their research.

The private economy legislation also supports private entities taking an active role in major national scientific research infrastructure. It promotes cooperation among industry, universities and research institutes, linking company research more closely with facilities and projects serving national goals.

Experts expect these measures to strengthen entrepreneurial confidence and encourage investment in innovation over longer periods. Legal protection matters to that investment because research can require sustained spending before it produces a commercial result.

The academy's selection policy and the proposed law address different parts of the same effort. Academy membership concerns recognition and scientific standing. The legislation concerns the conditions under which private businesses compete, protect their work and participate in research.

China's Effort to Attract and Retain Scientists

Thousands of Chinese scientists have returned from the United States and other countries in recent years, attracted by generous funding, advanced research facilities and prestigious positions. Their return is strengthening China's capabilities in areas including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and semiconductors.

This movement, often described as a reverse brain drain, is reshaping global scientific leadership. Researchers who built careers abroad are bringing their experience into Chinese institutions and companies, adding to the country's capacity to develop technology.

Geopolitical tensions, restrictive United States visa policies and concerns about racial profiling have contributed to the trend. Many Chinese scientists report feeling unsafe in the American research environment, prompting them to seek opportunities in China or other countries with more supportive policies.

China's research infrastructure and opportunities for professional recognition form part of its response. Giving private sector scientists access to prominent national honors adds another reason for researchers to stay in the country or return to it.

Economic Priorities Also Carry Security Importance

Artificial intelligence, biotechnology and new energy have both commercial and security uses. Technologies developed for civilian products can also have military applications, which is why these fields occupy a central place in China's technological strategy.

BGI Group collaborates with the People's Liberation Army on research projects. AI and battery technologies are also important to civilian and defense industries. The sectors represented in the academy's private enterprise shortlist therefore overlap with areas of strategic interest to the state.

China's policy of military-civil fusion connects civilian technological development with military needs. It enables advanced technologies and data to move into military use, supporting national security and military modernization.

The Biosecurity Law and Cybersecurity Law form part of the legal framework governing sensitive information and cooperation with security agencies. They ensure state control over sensitive data and require cooperation between companies and those agencies.

Private enterprise participation in national research consequently sits within a framework that combines economic development and security objectives. Companies developing useful commercial technologies may also be working in fields that matter to defense and national data policy.

Why Other Countries Are Watching

The United States and allied countries have raised concerns about data security, intellectual property and dependence on Chinese technology as China advances in strategic industries. Those concerns extend to the movement of scientific knowledge across borders.

United States government reports have highlighted risks associated with Chinese talent recruitment programs designed to transfer knowledge and intellectual property from abroad. Washington has responded with sanctions, export controls and greater oversight of Chinese companies operating in sensitive areas.

Export controls restrict the sale or transfer of particular technologies. They are one of the tools governments use when they consider technology important to national security, making international scientific and commercial cooperation more complicated in the sectors affected.

China's innovation system continues to strengthen amid those restrictions. Its effort to bring private sector talent into national scientific institutions is drawing international attention because it links commercial research with public recognition and national priorities.

Some experts suggest that the United States and other countries could benefit from closer cooperation among universities, industry and government. The debate concerns how to support scientific exchange and technological development while addressing security risks and protecting intellectual property.

Prestige and the Wider Competition for Talent

Competition for academy membership reflects the value attached to respected institutional positions in China. Millions of applicants seek civil service jobs each year, attracted by the stability and social status associated with the iron rice bowl, a familiar expression for secure public employment.

The academy's 100 places for about 600 nominees represent another highly selective route to professional standing. For engineers and scientists, membership is a coveted recognition of technical achievement and a position of influence within the country's research community.

Opening that route more broadly to private company researchers changes who can compete for such recognition. The academy's policy is expected to encourage more scientists in private enterprises to pursue major advances and contribute to national priorities.

China's search for talent also extends beyond formal honors. The country has developed the world's most comprehensive ecosystem of capture-the-flag hacking competitions, known as CTF contests. These competitions provide platforms for identifying and training cybersecurity talent.

State and private actors support the contests, which are used to recruit people into government agencies and critical industries. They also encourage cooperation between universities and private companies. The competitions form another connection between education, business research and government demand for specialist skills.

Recognition Must Be Matched by Conditions for Research

Private enterprises still face barriers to market access, regulatory obstacles and concerns about intellectual property rights. Academy recognition gives researchers greater standing, while those practical conditions affect whether their companies can invest, compete and turn discoveries into products.

Effective implementation of legal reforms and continued support for private research will be critical to sustaining momentum. The proposed private economy law addresses those operating conditions, while the academy's recruitment changes address access to the highest levels of scientific recognition.

China's approach brings several efforts together: honoring company researchers, attracting scientists from overseas, building talent through competitions and connecting commercial innovation with national priorities. The private sector shortlist makes that approach visible through specific people and technologies.

Other countries are reconsidering their innovation strategies as China's technological capabilities grow. Cooperation among academia, industry and government, international scientific networks, and the balance between openness and security are central to that competition. For the 19 private enterprise candidates, the immediate contest remains the academy's selective 2025 membership round.

Key Points

• Nineteen private enterprise leaders are shortlisted for the Chinese Academy of Engineering's 2025 selection round.
• The academy has 100 seats available, its largest intake in a decade, including eight reserved for private sector leaders.
• Named candidates include Hu Guoping, Wu Kai, Lian Yubo, Jia Zhenhua and Xu Xun.
• China's private sector contributes over 60 percent of GDP and 80 percent of urban employment.
• A draft private economy promotion law seeks fairer market access, stronger intellectual property protection and greater participation in national research.
• The recruitment shift connects with efforts to attract scientists, develop cybersecurity talent and advance technologies serving commercial and security needs.