Shanghai opening doors to talent

SHANGHAI - The government of Shanghai issued a guideline on Monday vowing to attract about 2,000 high-level overseas talents to the city in five to 10 years, in a move to step up its human resource work to match its rapid economic development.

The guideline aims to turn Shanghai from a Chinese base of skilled workers to an international one in the next decade, by raising the percentage of highly skilled laborers among skilled workers to 35 percent.

The guideline dovetails with a national one out in June, which outlines the country's human resources strategy for the next decade.

The national program for long-term talent development defines talents as people with professional skills and knowledge who work creatively and contribute to society. They are the finer part of the labor force with advanced abilities and comprehensive qualities.

The guideline also comes on the heels of a central government directive in 2009 to make Shanghai an international financial and shipping center by 2020.

According to the guideline, by 2020 the number of talents in Shanghai will stand at 6.4 million, including 21,000 foreign experts.

"The guideline is very pragmatic. The municipal government is not just talking. They are poised to take actions," said Zhu Qingyang, secretary-general of the Shanghai Human Resources Consulting Association, a citywide non-profit organization with 331 enterprise members.

Zhu said vocational development is not a problem in the city's attempt to attract high-end overseas professionals, as the city's economy is forging ahead along with China's.

Shanghai has the largest city economy in China. The city's gross domestic products grew 8.2 percent year-on-year to 1.49 trillion yuan ($219 billion) in 2009, according to statistics released by the municipal government.

Its GDP in 2009 exceeded that of Hong Kong for the first time after it surpassed Hong Kong as China's biggest port and stock-market operator.

"What the government has to address is building an amiable cultural environment and convenient living conditions to hold them in the city once they come, a goal the municipal government seems determined to achieve," Zhu said.

According to the guideline, two large-scale residential bases as well as a number of apartment buildings are to be built on both of the Puxi and the Pudong sides of the city, which would be provided to the talents at discounted prices.

The government also vowed to provide them with better medical and educational services, as well as nurturing an "open, tolerant and passionate entrepreneurial environment."

In addition, universities in the city will enlarge their enrollment of foreign students over the next few years to attract potential talents on an international basis.