Hopefuls line up for the 2021 civil service exam at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province. Photo:IC

China plans to recruit a record number of 37,100 civil servants for the organs of and institutions directly under the central government in the 2023 intake, with this year's recruitment requirements highlighting the construction of grass-roots workers and candidates' political quality, the State Administration of Civil Service announced on Monday.

According to the administration, this year will see a further expansion in the recruitment of fresh graduates with 25,000 vacancies exclusively for them, or 67.4 percent of the 37,100 positions, which is the highest share in recent years. 

The administration will further strengthen the construction of grass-roots civil servants with nearly 28,000 posts at directly affiliated institutions at the county or district level and below.

Certain requirements, such as academic degrees and work experience, will be lowered for those applying for positions in remote poor areas to encourage more applicants for these posts.

Applications will be accepted online from Tuesday to November 3, the administration said. Candidates will need to take a national written exam, which is scheduled to be held on December 4 across the country.

More than 3,000 positions will be open only to those working in select primary-level projects, as well as veterans who have college degrees and served for at least five years, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

According to the administration, this year's recruitment highlights political standards, which means the candidates are required to be people with talent and great moral character. They should support the leadership of the CPC and the socialist system, love the Party, the country and the people. Also, the examination will test candidates' ability to use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to analyze and solve problems.

The requirements show the country's determination to attract talent with high capabilities, good political and moral qualities to serve the people, Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Giving full play to the advantages of talent and strengthening the construction of the grass-roots civil service to promote rural revitalization and improve social governance, will allow the public to enjoy a high quality of government service and a happier life, Zhu said.

Providing more positions for fresh graduates has been one of the main characteristics of the civil servant intake during recent years, which aims to create more employment and opportunities for graduates as well as attracting more young people to work at the grass-roots level, thereby improving the quality of civil servants at the grass-roots level, Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, told the Global Times on Friday.

The policy of favoring fresh graduates definitely offers benefits to them and will help them find stable jobs, and there are also voices calling for more opportunities for those who graduated in previous years, Xiong said.

Experts believed that the recruitment standards echoed the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which laid out clear requirements for Party building and organizational work, and will help cultivate talent for the country's new journey toward modernization.

The stronger country has attracted more and more talent to apply for the civil service positions. The Global Times reporter found that the number of positions this year is higher than the 31,242 in 2022 and 25,726 in 2021, and a record high for the decade. Compared with 2022, this year's national civil service exam has expanded enrollment by 18.7 percent.

The great zeal resulted from the bright career prospects of public servants and the openness, fairness and accountability of the selection process, according to several examination candidates reached by the Global Times on Monday. 

A Beijing-based candidate, who works in the financial industry, told the Global Times that the position of civil servant is more stable and conducive to his career development, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"To work in the highest level of leading organs of the state or its subordinate institutions, is not only the dream of people who are eager to get into politics, but also can provide a stage for serving the people and the country," a candidate said.