Since 1949, when the People’s Republic was established, China’s system of technical and professional ranks and titles has undergone several changes in its design, moving from a system of technical and professional positions to purely academic titles, and then from purely academic titles to technical positions, and from technical and professional positions to qualifications. It has become a system of human resource management, integrating academic evaluation, position appointments, honorary titles and social benefits. Because the existing personnel system has increasingly become an institutional constraint on S&T innovation and human resource development, in recent years the central authorities have rolled out a series of important reform measures, which are mainly focused on standardizing vocational admission qualifications for technical and professional professionals and implementing strict management according to law; improving the methods for the competency evaluation of technical and professional personnel and placing more importance on the role of third-party agencies; and improving the methods of evaluation and appointments of technical and professional personnel and giving full play to the autonomy of employing units. In general, it stresses the strict management of vocational qualifications according to law, placing more importance on the third-party agencies in competency evaluation, and giving full play to the autonomy of employers.