Summary of Key Points
Recently, several third- and fourth-tier cities, including Hengyang, Bazhong, and Shantou, have held symposiums for outstanding high school graduates, inviting local students who are about to attend prestigious universities such as Tsinghua and Peking University. The main goal is to establish an emotional connection with them early on in the hope that they will return to their hometowns in the future to contribute to its development. This phenomenon reflects the passive position and anxiety of these cities in the talent competition. Due to their smaller economies and lack of high-quality educational resources, they have long faced the challenge of brain drain and can only try to attract potential talents by appealing to emotional bonds. However, this also highlights a deeper issue of regional development imbalance: top talents are constantly flowing to first- and second-tier cities, creating a paradox where these cities struggle to retain them. Solving this problem requires improvements in the local environment and support from macro policies.
Detailed Analysis
1. Why do third- and fourth-tier cities start competing for talent at the high school level? – The closest chance, yet a last resort
Cities like Hengyang and Bazhong are typically ordinary tier-three municipalities with smaller economies and lower urban levels compared to first- and second-tier cities, and they lack local prestigious universities that could serve as talent reservoirs. For them, the outstanding high school graduates they produce represent their closest chance of attracting top-tier talents, as these students will likely go on to study at the best universities nationwide but then stay in larger cities for their careers. Instead of waiting until they graduate to compete for them (which is even more difficult), it’s better to build a connection through symposiums and emotional appeals. For example, Hengyang has seen a population decline of 280,000 since 2020, and Bazhong by 140,000, forcing them to act sooner. This approach is similar to many cities’ efforts to foster an “alumni economy” by inviting returned entrepreneurs to support their hometowns; it’s better to establish strong emotional ties early on.
2. The dilemma of talent outflow from third- and fourth-tier cities: the better the students, the more likely they are to leave
These cities face a cruel paradox: the better the locally trained students, the more likely they are to move to first- and second-tier cities. For instance, outstanding students from Shantou often go on to study at Fudan or Zhejiang University and then stay in Shanghai or Hangzhou after graduation. The reason for this is a vicious cycle between lack of industries that can retain talent and the inability of those cities to attract and develop talent. Despite national regulations prohibiting eastern universities from poaching talents from central and western regions, the objective reality of more opportunities and better benefits in larger cities makes such restrictions ineffective.
3. Emotional appeals are not enough; hard infrastructure and educational resources are crucial
Relying solely on slogans about “returning to help the hometown” is insufficient to retain talent. These cities need to shift their focus from building physical infrastructure (such as blindly constructing industrial parks) to improving the local environment, such as education quality, healthcare, and living facilities (which young people value, like public transportation, shopping centers, and parks). Additionally, they must strengthen their local universities by providing support for research and development. For example, Hunan has supported Hengyang’s Nanhua University and Hunan University of Science and Technology in establishing doctoral programs, while Guang'an in Sichuan and Hebi in Henan have added new undergraduate institutions. With better local universities, these cities can retain some talent and attract students from other regions.
4. A new trend in regional competition: the battle for talent is moving earlier, leading to greater disparities
The fact that third- and fourth-tier cities are competing for high school graduates indicates that the talent race has shifted from the university graduation period to the high school stage, exacerbating regional disparities. Advantageous cities (first- and second-tier) can attract talent more quickly, putting even more pressure on the latter. To address this, macro-level policies are needed, such as including talent support in the evaluation of provincial sub-center city development (as Hunan did when supporting Hengyang’s development). Alternatively, a compensation mechanism for talent outflow could be established, with eastern cities using taxes or resources to support regions that lose talent. Otherwise, cities that mainly serve as talent sources will face increasing difficulties and impact overall regional development.
Conclusion
The effort by third- and fourth-tier cities to attract high school graduates is just the tip of the iceberg in their anxiety over talent competition. While emotional appeals are a starting point, retaining talent truly requires industrial upgrading, improving the local environment, and investing in education. The issue of regional development imbalance can only be resolved through national policy support and innovative approaches that ensure all cities have equal opportunities to attract and develop talent for sustainable growth.