BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's artificial intelligence (AI) boom is fueling a fierce talent crunch, with tech companies -- from robotics pioneers to cloud giants -- scrambling to fill millions of roles amid soaring demand.

"We are critically short of people. All the positions are understaffed," Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, a leading humanoid robotics firm, said at a recent forum on innovation and entrepreneurship in Shanghai.

Seizing the moment to "recruit on the spot," the Chinese entrepreneur said that the Hangzhou-based company has already established a Shanghai branch and is actively seeking young professionals. He attributed the hiring frenzy to surging market demand and supportive national policies, noting that Unitree and other robotics firms are experiencing robust growth.

The race for talent is intensifying across the country. At a recent job fair in east China's Hangzhou, a hub of innovative enterprises, 830 companies offered 21,000 positions, with half focused on AI algorithms and large model development. Similarly, a recruitment event in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou announced over 50,000 openings, with many roles in electronics, advanced manufacturing, and AI-related fields.

"Our company started to launch projects in domain-specific large models and humanoid robots last year, and we urgently need high-level AI talent," said Liu Ziyin, operations director of a tech firm in north China's Tianjin, adding that he is frequently visiting recruitment events recently to seek skilled candidates.

At present, China is home to over 4,500 AI companies, with its core AI industries valued at nearly 600 billion yuan (about 83.41 billion U.S. dollars), the China Internet Network Information Center said in a report on generative AI.

With an industrial chain spanning chips, algorithms, data, platforms and applications in the country, AI has emerged as a key driver of new industrialization, generating an enormous and ever-increasing talent demand, according to the report.

AI-related positions are currently the most talent-starved in China, with a supply-demand ratio well below 1.0, according to professional networking platform Maimai. For specialized roles in cloud computing and deep learning, the ratio drops as low as 0.27.

McKinsey & Company forecasts that China will require 6 million AI professionals by 2030, but could face a shortfall of 4 million.

Wang Liang, a researcher at the Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said fundamental research-oriented and cross-disciplinary experts are needed to help pioneer original algorithms and accelerate AI integration across industries.

To address the widening talent gap, China's educational institutions and industry leaders are stepping up their efforts.

More than 500 universities now offer AI-related majors or have launched dedicated schools related to the field. Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China included AI into their 2025 enrollment expansion plans, and Nankai University introduced over 130 specialized courses under its AI talent development initiative last year.

As the talent pool expands, optimizing the structure and quality of training becomes even more critical, Wang said, noting that future demand for AI professionals will be more segmented and universities must tailor their programs to keep pace with the evolving landscape.

Tech firms are also stepping in to cultivate more talent. Peking University and ByteDance established a joint lab in December 2024, and Nanjing University and Alibaba Cloud signed a comprehensive agreement to collaborate on AI talent development in March this year. Tencent has also pledged to deepen partnerships with universities to advance technical innovation and nurture talent.

Experts believe that these efforts will help foster a fair, open and sustainable ecosystem for AI talent development, bolstering the country's AI workforce and powering its continuous technological advancement.■