China has achieved remarkable progress in cultivating postdoctoral researchers in the past 40 years and more efforts and resources will be channeled to the postdoctoral fellows' entrepreneurship and innovations to build the nation into a self-independent technology powerhouse in the future, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

China built its first postdoctoral researcher program in 1985, and so far, the nation has over 8,000 postdoctoral researcher work stations with about 400,000 postdoctoral fellows, said Li Jinsheng, an official of the ministry, at a news conference in Quanzhou, Fujian province on Wednesday.

"In 2024, the number of postdoctoral recruits reached a record high, with 42,000 individuals being recruited," he said, adding that the postdoctoral researcher program has cultivated young innovative talent for the nation, which has played an important role in shaping the nation into a self-independent and strong powerhouse of technology.

To fully promote the coordinated development of education, science and technology, and talent, the ministry will hold the third national innovation and entrepreneurship competition for postdoctoral researchers in Quanzhou.?The ministry held two national competitions of this kind in Guangdong and Shandong provinces in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Li, who is also secretary-general of the organizing committee of the competition, said the competition has offered a good stage for these young talents to show and exchange their abilities, innovative ideas and results, and can help unleash the youths' innovative and entrepreneurial potentials to transfer their research and ideas into industrial progress.