[Column] The unspoken deal that made China a nation led by engineers

China has long been viewed as a nation led by engineers, though this was not always the case. During the early years of the Communist Party (CCP), engineers were often distrusted and labeled as a reactionary force. Scientists and engineers were even branded as "rightists" for advocating that non-experts should not lead experts. This perspective shifted in the late 1950s, when Chinese leader Mao Zedong introduced the principle of "being both red and expert."

This meant that cadres needed to possess both political loyalty (red) and technical expertise (expert). The goal was to have cadres learn technical skills and supervise experts without creating an elite class of party officials. To achieve this, President Jiang Nanxiang set up a system of political counselors, choosing academically outstanding students to perform both political and technical tasks.

However, this initiative was disrupted by the Cultural Revolution in 1966, which targeted both intellectuals and "red and expert" cadres, ultimately thwarting the plan. Deng Xiaoping later acknowledged that expertise was essential for governance, and by the early 1980s, the Chinese Communist Party had transformed into one dominated by engineers, with almost all members of the Politburo Standing Committee holding engineering degrees.

This shift marked the end of the Maoist ideal of a classless society and the beginning of a ruling class composed of engineers loyal to the CCP.