Guangzhou Development District has acted as a powerful magnet, attracting highly-trained and skilled professionals, experts and academics, through its ability to innovate and via its favorable policies over recent years, experts told a recent forum.

The forum focused on the national Recruitment Program of Global Experts - a major recruitment drive initiated by the government under a decade ago - and was held during the 2017 Convention on Exchange of Overseas Talents in the district.

In 2008, China launched the program to recruit outstanding ethnic Chinese talent, particularly in the sciences and engineering, from overseas institutions.

"As a national innovation pilot zone, the development district has been striving to attract talent by supporting them with more open policies, innovative measures and superior service," said Chen Xiaohua, deputy director-general of the district's administrative committee.

According to official statistics, 41 people will be recruited in the program, from 443 candidates in the plan's national list this year.

At present, the district has 33 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 17 innovation and entrepreneurship teams of Guangdong province's "Pearl River Talents Program", 19 staff of the province's "Special Support Program" and 61 of Guangzhou's industrial leaders.

Zou Hongzhi is a member of the program, who invented technology to screen colorectal cancer without invasive tests during his work in the United States.

In 2015, Zou came back to China and started up business in Guangzhou, by founding Creative Biosciences Guangzhou Co Ltd.

The district offered many attractive benefits worth 13 million yuan ($1.97 million), including giving 10 million yuan to leading expert staff and providing 6,000 square meters of office space - all conducive to the company's development - Zou said.

"It has also streamlined the procedures for the company's bidding process, enabling us to be fully engaged in the operation," he said.

Shi Yigong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said these kinds of moves are proving effective.

"By recruiting international experts, we hope they can make more contributions to global science and technology, education and civilization in the near future," he added.

About 7,800 professionals and experts have been beneficiaries of the program since 2008, helping to accelerate China's progress in science and technology, and in education, he said. Li Yang set up his scientific and technological company, Smarter Micro, in the district in 2011. In 2010, Li was invited to join a communications conference in Guangzhou, and made an inspection of the district.

Li said the great efficiency of the district's administration and its policies on services and recruiting top flight talent are competitive.

Xia Jian, director of the district's science and technology innovation bureau, said international professionals were mostly recruited from high-tech and frontier fields.

"We will move to bring in such enterprises as unicorn companies (new companies worth $1 billion or more), to create a new engine for the district and create new growth points," Xia added.

This year, the district has come out with more policies on attracting leading technicians, expertise and other industry professionals, offering more services.

These include promoting industry development, intellectual property protection and financing venture capital.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/23/2017 page7)