BEIJING - China's has 48 million people working in the fields of science and technology, but the pool of personnel still lacks high-level scientists for strategic needs, a former human resources official has revealed.

Though the numbers of both sci-tech current workers and graduates outnumber those of the United States, China is not a great power of talents, Xu Songtao, former deputy head of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said at a seminar on Monday.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Science and Technology, China has just over 10,000 people classed as high-level innovative talents, said Xu, also an advisor to the China Talent Research body.

Despite China being a marine leader, the number of Chinese scientists registered in a database database of oceanic talents is less than 100, one-twentieth of that of the United States, he added.

"The innovative capabilities and competitiveness of Chinese talents are also weak," Xu said, urging officials at all levels to pay great attention to the nurturing of talented people and to initiate a number of recruitment projects.

He also suggested creating a competitive environment to eliminate the incapable as well as to form a reserve of strategic talents.