China-Europe Talent Forum urges cooperation on workforce upskilling in AI era

Speakers at the 2026 China-Europe Talent Forum in Beijing on Monday called for closer cooperation among governments, companies and educational institutions to prepare the global workforce for the changes being brought about by artificial intelligence.

Co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Human Resources Bureau and the Zurich-based Adecco Group, the forum brought together over 200 representatives from Chinese and European government departments, international organizations, multinational companies, prestigious universities, research institutions and leading think tanks.

The event featured six targeted sub-forums focusing on youth, education, science and technology, culture, future industries, and ecological civilization.

With artificial intelligence reshaping the global labor market, Jean-Christophe Deslarzes, chairman of the Adecco Group, emphasized the shared responsibility of various stakeholders.

"AI is transforming today's work, and the future of work, quite a bit. I believe that there is a key responsibility between companies, governments and learning institutions to work together in order to prepare human beings for that future. The forum, starting in 2018, was really focused on collaboration between China and Europe with respect to talent development. It's important that we find solutions, as I was saying, to reskill and upskill our populations to be ready for the future of work. Last year in Madrid, this year in Beijing, next year in Berlin, our ambition should be to continue to involve other European cities, making sure that the connection between China and Europe is real," said Deslarzes.

Echoing this sentiment, Stephen Jackson, UN Resident Coordinator in China, underscored the need for global talent cooperation and closer dialogue between China and Europe.

"The bottom line is we need international cooperation around talent, so that talent grows and talent prospers and talent benefits us all. [It] gets tremendously important that these two great parts of the world, Europe and China be dialoguing, and what better to be dialoguing about than talent? Both of those areas of the world, they have some of the top universities in the world, they have some of the top companies in the world, they have a lot of experience in common and a lot to learn from each other," said Jackson.

At the forum, the Beijing Institute of Talent Development Strategy, in collaboration with international academic publisher Springer Nature, released the Global City Talent Retention Index 2026. Covering 130 cities worldwide, the report ranks Beijing 5th for its strong innovation momentum, marking the 7th consecutive year for the Chinese capital has ranked among the world's top 10.

The 2026 China-Europe Talent Forum also saw the launch of a China-Europe talent think tank alliance and the SPARK Program for Global Young Innovators, an initiative connecting young innovators from around the world with Beijing's tech and startup ecosystem.

Since its launch in 2018, the forum has run for seven editions serving as a key platform for talent exchanges and practical cooperation between China and Europe.

China-Europe Talent Forum urges cooperation on workforce upskilling in AI era

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Tuesday that the country possesses the technological infrastructure to make missiles with significantly longer ranges.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi made the announcement in an interview with the official news agency IRNA, stressing that a political decision needs to be made within the country regarding the production of such missiles.

Mohebbi noted that in any confrontation, Iran will unveil new weapons with new ranges, precision and destructive power, emphasizing that battlefield is the best place to test new weapons.

He said Iran recently tested a new missile on an aircraft carrier and a warship both belonging to the United States, adding the missile hit the aircraft carrier, which was within a range of 500 km.

Mohebbi explained that the strike did not disable the U.S. aircraft carrier, but caused damage to it, saying Iran maintains that the strike inflicted casualties, although the United States did not announce that.

Earlier this month, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei told state-run IRIB TV that the country had carried out an important attack "within the preceding 48 hours" against a U.S. aircraft carrier as a warning to make the "enemy" know that its naval blockade is vulnerable.

IRGC says Iran has technological infrastructure to make missiles with far longer ranges