Jiangsu invites talent to speed up growth

Jiangsu province, one of China's leading economic powerhouses, has been inviting talent from both home and abroad to help promote high-quality development and achieve the goal of common prosperity, according to top provincial officials.

The third Jiangsu Development Summit, which was held over the weekend, attracted more than 1,000 domestic and foreign guests to provide suggestions and support for the province's development.

As one of the most important summits held by the provincial Party committee and provincial government of Jiangsu, the summit aims to establish a platform for talent to communicate and cooperate.

In March, President Xi Jinping expressed hope that the province will continue to make efforts and take the lead in realizing high-quality development and modernization, when he joined Jiangsu legislators in their deliberations at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature.

In May 2017, when the first summit was held, Li Qiang, then secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that the wisdom and power of people in Jiangsu are needed to promote the development of the province.

Xin Changxing, secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said at the opening ceremony of the third summit that the province will build itself into an industrial science and technology innovation center, an advanced manufacturing base and a hub of opening-up with international influence and competitiveness.

Jiangsu, which has a population of more than 85 million, saw its GDP hit a record high of 12.29 trillion yuan ($1.78 trillion) last year. It accounted for one-tenth of China's total, with its foreign trade volume accounting for 12.9 percent of the country's total.

Bram Jansen, president of the Sino-German chemical joint venture BASF-YPC, said that he was deeply impressed by the summit and that it came at the right time.

He said that Jiangsu wants to create a sustainable environment and is focusing on high-quality development, which aligns with his company's goal.

"This is exactly what we at BASFYPC also need, and we will also contribute to this high-quality development," Jansen, who has been working and living in the province for more than seven years, was quoted by Jiangsu International TV as saying.

According to the provincial government, 49 industrial projects were signed at the first development summit, while 126 provincial-level projects with an investment of more than 450 billion yuan were signed at the second development summit.

The guests, after attending the summit in provincial capital of Nanjing, were invited by 12 other cities in Jiangsu to visit.

Du Xiaogang, secretary of the Wuxi Committee of the Communist Party of China, said at the opening ceremony of the sixth Global Wuxi Business Conference on Sunday that the local government will continue to provide considerate and thoughtful services for business people in the city.

With only 0.048 percent of China's land area and 0.53 percent of the nation's population, Wuxi manages to generate 1.2 percent of the country's total economic output.

More than 400 business leaders, scholars and representatives from many walks of life attended the Global Wuxi Business Conference. Sixteen projects with an investment of 25.84 billion yuan were also signed.