Deng Xiaoping

Source date: 24 May 1977. “Respect Knowledge, Respect Trained Personnel”, excerpt from a conversation with two central party leaders. Editorial overview.

Deng makes education and scientific expertise practical conditions of modernization. He argues that political enthusiasm cannot substitute for qualified people and that acknowledging China's technological weaknesses is necessary for overcoming them.

His proposals extend beyond praising intellectual work. They include better schooling, selection through examinations, research institutions within enterprises and financial support that enables specialists to concentrate on their work. The argument connects national ambition to the everyday conditions under which knowledge is produced.

This text is especially relevant to discussions of talent and state capacity. Its central question is how institutions can identify, develop and use competence. Deng retains explicit political requirements concerning socialism and party leadership. Respect for expertise therefore operates inside his political framework, rather than replacing it.

Read the English text.