China Goes on Tech-Hiring Binge and Wages Soar, Closing Gap With Silicon Valley

China's war for technology talent is intensifying. Tens of thousands of people are being hired to shore up cybersecurity, help censor online content, and try to make China No.1 in the application of artificial intelligence (AI), as capital pours into both start-ups and more mature businesses at a time when the government is demanding rapid development. "Companies are well-funded and are in serious competition for talent," said Thomas Liang, a former executive at Chinese search giant Baidu who is now running an AI–focused fund. He said that startups in hot sectors like AI often have to offer 50-100 percent pay raises to attract employees away from established technology firms. China's emergence as a global center for technology, with champions such as Alibaba and Tencent now worth more than a trillion dollars combined, has led to a hiring boom and wage growth that starts to puts salaries for the top talent within striking distance of those offered in Silicon Valley.