Craftsmanship Shines in AI Era: Charting Path for High-Quality Employment in China

While AI and robots may replace a "job type" or complete a specific task, they can never take the place of a "craftsman"—nor can they replicate human warmth, creativity and emotional resonance. During this year’s National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference sessions, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who also serves as chairman of Yonghui Supermarket Co., Ltd., shared insights on promoting high-quality and sufficient employment. He noted that in today’s era swept by technological waves, the essence of achieving high-quality employment is not to "compete with machines for jobs", but to rely on the "spirit of craftsmanship" to hold firmly the "golden bowl" of humanized services. "The development of technology is not to replace humans, but to empower them."

"Both mental and manual workers are facing challenges from new technologies," he stated. The true meaning of "technology for good" lies in how to use technology to enhance human value. To this end, he called on the whole society to reach a consensus: AI can complete standardized tasks, but it cannot replicate the warmth, creativity and emotional resonance that a craftsman conveys in the service process. The core of high-quality employment is to help ordinary workers transform their "professional skills" into "hard currency" that meets the needs of the times.

In 2025, Yonghui Supermarket launched a series of in-depth reforms by "learning from Pang Donglai". He revealed that this round of reform is not only about adjusting the commodity structure and upgrading the shopping environment, but the core change lies in the treatment and dignity of "people". Taking this opportunity, Yonghui Supermarket officially launched the "Craftsman Program". Through holding national skills competitions, fishmongers, meat cutters and baking experts who are usually unknown are brought to the competitive stage to become the focus of attention. This program aims to cultivate ordinary supermarket employees into "technical talents" who can create value through professional skills.

"High-quality employment is not only about income, but also about dignity," he said. Up to now, 280 technical employees of Yonghui have obtained vocational skill level certificates recognized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the number of internally certified technicians has reached 5,131. As their skill levels improve, their incomes have also increased correspondingly.

Based on Yonghui’s frontline practice experience, he suggested that the state should pay more attention to "service-oriented technicians", incorporating skilled talents in segmented service fields such as retail, catering and housekeeping into the national high-skilled talent evaluation system. This means that in addition to traditional manufacturing technicians, craftsmen who demonstrate exquisite skills in frontline services should also be entitled to corresponding talent subsidies and policy dividends.

"Only when workers have 'both income and dignity' can employment truly achieve 'high quality'," he emphasized. Employment is the foundation of people’s livelihood and the source of consumption. When workers’ pockets are bulging and their hearts are warm, the consumer market can truly become vibrant.

Faced with the era proposition of "how to make people live more valuable when machines become more and more like humans", Yonghui is trying to give its own answer through the "Craftsman Program". He said that Yonghui’s reform has just begun. In the digital technological tide, Yonghui will unswervingly deepen the "Craftsman Program", safeguard the precious human touch and light up thousands of families by improving people’s skills, protecting their dignity and releasing their warmth.

"Let skills be seen, let craftsmanship be respected, and let every worker find their own position in the AI era with their professional skills. This is not only the responsibility of enterprises, but also a common task of the whole society," he called on all sectors of society to work together to pave the way for the high-quality employment of craftsmen and lay the foundation for common prosperity.