Education and Human Capital in the Superpower Race: The Chinese Experience and Strategic Implications for Türkiye

Policy Review · An Assessment in Light of Field Observations and International Research

Method and Limitations

This text is not an empirical research article but a policy review based on secondary sources and limited field observation. The field observation is based on a video recording of a single elite high school in China (Çankaya, 2026); the observations therefore cannot be generalised to the Chinese education system as a whole. Numerical data are taken from official and international sources, and readers should bear in mind that definitions and calculation methods may differ between sources.

1. Introduction and the Layers of the Chinese Education System

The economic and technological leap of the People’s Republic of China over the past four decades rests on multidimensional economic dynamics such as active industrial policy, a sharp increase in R&D spending, international technology transfer and high savings rates (World Bank & Development Research Center of the State Council, 2019). The human resource strategy feeding this economic structure is shaped around strong academic selectivity and the centralised university entrance examination (Gaokao).

However, treating the Chinese education system as a single homogeneous structure is a methodological error. The system contains marked differences in quality and opportunity between elite urban high schools, under-resourced rural schools, vocational and technical institutions and international programmes (OECD, 2016).

The key dynamics reflected in field observations and national trends can be examined under the following sub-headings.

1.1. STEM / Engineering-Oriented Streaming and Its Limitations

Statistics from China’s Ministry of Education and estimates based on them indicate that approximately 40% of undergraduate students study in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China [MOE], 2023); the figure varies between sources depending on how fields are classified. In the elite high school observed, the orientation towards the sciences appears even stronger (Çankaya, 2026). This orientation risks creating a hierarchical divide between the natural sciences and the humanities. Yet the two are complementary rather than alternatives: in the age of artificial intelligence, technological development cannot reach a sustainable, socially beneficial form unless it is supported by disciplines such as ethics, philosophy, sociology and aesthetics.

1.2. Academic Selectivity, Meritocracy and Equal Opportunity

Intense competition within the system enables high-achieving students to be identified and supported quickly. The same structure, however, also brings the risk of early elimination through one-off examinations and heavy psychological pressure (Zhao, 2014). In China this phenomenon is publicly debated under the term neijuan (内卷; “involution”, i.e. self-defeating, diminishing-return over-competition). The exclusion of talents who are eliminated early or who do not fit the academic template is a serious limitation for the sustainability of human resources.

1.3. Higher Education Transformation and Brain Drain / Circulation

To address mismatches in the labour market, the Chinese government is pursuing a policy of merging, closing and redirecting some higher education programmes towards technical fields. Official data show a marked increase over the past three decades in the return rates of Chinese students and researchers who studied abroad (MOE, 2023). This trend should be assessed not merely as physical return but together with participation in international scientific networks, remote collaboration and the concept of brain circulation (Welch & Zhang, 2008). Behind this transformation lie not only financial incentives but also large-scale investment in research infrastructure.

2. Conceptual Framework for Developing Human Potential

Conceptual clarity is vital when addressing individual development in education policy:

3. Strategic Implications and Policy Recommendations for Türkiye

Rather than copying other countries’ models, Türkiye’s education policies should be designed on an evidence basis, taking into account existing socio-economic conditions (regional disparities in opportunity, teacher capacity, youth unemployment).

3.1. A Multidimensional and Flexible Guidance System

Holistic assessment: A student’s potential cannot be determined by a single examination or a single measurement tool. Assessment should combine academic performance, teacher observations, peer interactions, interest inventories and the student’s own preferences.

Positioning supporting tools: Personality and competency inventories (for example psychometric tools such as CharacterIX; CharacterIX, 2025) should be used in guidance processes only on condition that their validity and reliability have been confirmed by independent academic research. A developer’s own technical report does not substitute for such validation. Such tools cannot serve as a stand-alone mechanism for eliminating, classifying or determining school placement; they should be positioned in guidance services as complementary, descriptive aids that help increase students’ self-awareness.

3.2. Holistic Talent Development: Support, Not Elimination

Flexible vertical and horizontal pathways: Rigid streaming at an early age can limit a child’s developmental potential. Talent identification should not be a one-off labelling exercise but a dynamic process that is repeated from primary school onwards, respects each child’s pace of development and allows transfer between school types.

Equal opportunity and support mechanisms: To reduce regional disparities, laboratories, digital infrastructure and qualified guidance support should be directed as a priority to schools in disadvantaged regions.

3.3. Higher Education and Skilled Workforce Strategy

Priority fields and collaboration: The skilled human resources needed in fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy and defence systems should be planned on the basis of periodic data analysis, in cooperation between the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the private sector.

Attracting and retaining talent: The contribution of internationally recognised scientists and researchers does not depend on financial incentives alone. Transparent merit-based mechanisms, academic freedom, predictable career paths and participation in decision-making must be ensured. Alongside physical return, remote joint research networks (diaspora science networks) should also be activated.

4. Concrete Implementation Roadmap

All measures should first be launched at pilot scale, their effects measured through independent monitoring and evaluation reports, and scaled up only when results are positive.

5. Conclusion

China’s experience in education and technology is an important subject of study because it shows the consequences of a strong link between state strategy and educational planning. The lesson to be drawn, however, is not to replicate centralised and selective mechanisms, but to build sustainable, human-centred systems grounded in equal opportunity and the well-rounded development of the individual.

Remaining true to its own social fabric, the potential of its young population and democratic principles, Türkiye should resolutely pursue a human capital policy centred on transparency in education, teacher quality and academic freedom. The success of this policy depends on shared ownership by individuals, families, educators, the business community and civil society alongside the state, and on Türkiye’s participation in the global science ecosystem as an equal and active partner.

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