Liu Silei, who is studying robotics, cognition and intelligence at the Technical University of Munich, returned to China for the recruitment event. “China's AI boom is providing ample career opportunities,“ Liu said.

　　At a similar job fair held in east China's Hangzhou recently, 830 companies offered 21,000 positions, with half of them in AI algorithms and large models.

　　Chinese firm Unitree Robotics posted 10 AI-related roles, with monthly salaries reaching up to 70,000 yuan, underscoring the lucrative opportunities emerging in this sector.

　　“DeepSeek's explosive growth is driving AI integration across sectors, and the intensifying competition for AI professionals is pushing companies to increase salaries,“ said Li Qiang, executive vice president of Zhaopin, an online recruitment platform in China.

　　Data from the platform shows that job postings for algorithm engineers and machine learning roles in February grew by 46.8 percent and 40.1 percent year on year, respectively, with average monthly salaries surpassing 20,000 yuan.

　　The AI talent shortage deepened in Q1 2025, with demand outpacing supply by a ratio of 3:1, according to a report by Liepin, a Chinese job-seeking service provider. Specifically, there are nine job openings for every search algorithm engineer and seven for each recommendation algorithm specialist.

　　Demand for AI education and talent development is also surging. Job openings for AI trainers after this year's Chinese New Year soared by 112 percent, with positions offering a monthly salary of over 15,000 yuan, according to Zhaopin.