Foreword

China is a developing country with the largest population in the world. Its 1.3 billion people are a vast reservoir of human resources. Actively developing human resources, bringing into full play the po-tential ability and value of each individual and promoting the people's all-round development so as to provide powerful labor and intellectual support for China's modernization drive and to realize its transformation from a country rich in human resources to one with powerful human resources, is a significant aim the Chinese government has been cher-ishing and a major undertaking it has been unremittingly advancing.

Since the founding of New China in 1949, and especially since the reform and opening-up policies were introduced in the late 1970s, the Chinese government, upholding the idea of putting people first, has ac-tively implemented the principle of respecting labor, knowledge, talent and creativity, and has adopted a series of policies and measures to boost employment and develop education, science and technology, culture, public health and social security, striving to create a favorable environment and conditions for the people's all-round development. Currently, China's employment situation is stable on the whole; the people's education and health levels have been remarkably improved; and a galaxy of talented people in various fields urgently needed by national construction has appeared. They are playing an important role in promoting the development of all economic and social undertakings.

In accordance with the requirements of the socialist market econ-omy system, and to promote sustainable development and social har-mony, the Chinese government pays attention to the fundamental func-tion of the market in deploying human resources, while vigorously promoting institutional reforms in the fields of economy, science, technology and education, constantly deepening the reform of the cad-re related system, and pursuing the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education and that of strengthening the nation with trained personnel, and a proactive employment policy. It has also established and improved the human resources development mecha-nism to train, attract, use and support talented people, and accelerated human resources legal construction, thereby opening up a human re-sources development path conforming to China's national conditions.