; and (3) existing hiring authorities across the executive branch are not being adequately utilized to bring in necessary expertise to win the strategic competition against the PRC, and agencies may benefit from additional flexibility to recruit, hire, and retain talent. 3. Hiring additional expertise at the Department of State (a) Direct hire authority (1) In general Beginning not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall appoint directly to positions in the competitive service, as defined in section 2102 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to the provisions of sections 3309 through 3318 of that title, not fewer than 31 candidates with linguistic, cultural, or regional expertise relevant to strengthening United States understanding of and ability to compete with the PRC. (2) Termination The authority provided under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Long-Term and short-Term contracts (1) Training The Secretary of State shall train Foreign Service and civil service employees who hold positions relevant to advancing United States policies toward competition with the PRC in the topics described in paragraph (2). (2) Topics covered The training referred to in paragraph (1) shall cover the following: (A) The domestic and foreign policy objectives of the PRC and the CCP, as demonstrated through publicly available speeches and PRC and CCP documents. (B) The tools the PRC and the CCP use to achieve those objectives. (C) The role of ideology in shaping CCP policies and outlook. (D) Other topics deemed relevant by the China Strategic Advisory Board, established by section 4(a). (3) Contracts and grants for training In providing the training referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of State may obtain assistance from knowledgeable persons by— (A) entering into short-term and long-term contracts for such assistance, including contracts for the temporary or intermittent services of experts and