Event inspires entrepreneurship

Nantong nurtures, attracts top professionals, Li Fusheng, Zhu Beining and Zhang Ye report.

Nantong in Jiangsu province has explored new ideas for its pillar industries through an annual entrepreneurship event in the city.

More than 40 teams from China and overseas took part in the event, with their projects covering industries including new materials, Internet finance, environmental protection and shipbuilding.

The event also attracted about 200 experts from leading universities, including the University of California, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and representatives from Chinese and overseas investment agencies.

As part of its campaign to attract professionals, the event was designed to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit, spot innovative talent and attract promising projects to boost local economic restructuring and transformation, said organizers.

The weeklong event, now in its fifth year, started on Aug 26 and was composed of different sessions ranging from speeches on entrepreneurship by scientists and well-known businesspeople to the release of university research and their latest scientific and technological developments, organized trips to local scientific parks and entrepreneurship competitions.

Chen Bin, the city’s deputy Party chief, said the event shows Nantong’s attractions for talented professionals. He said the city offers great opportunities for entrepreneurs in China and from abroad to start up their businesses.

Award-winning projects will receive financial support of at least 1 million yuan ($157,324) if they are implemented in Nantong, as was stipulated in the city’s Jianghai talent plan.

The plan has helped 207 entrepreneurs start their own businesses or innovative programs.

The talent plan is one of several of Nantong’s initiatives to attract excellent human resources. One of the first innovative cities in China, Nantong has attracted 120 people on the list of the nation’s recruitment program for innovative talents and 171 innovative and entrepreneurial doctoral degree holders.

The pool of professionals secured Nantong a place on Forbes’ list of the top 25 innovative cities on the Chinese mainland for four consecutive years.

Hu Jinbo, director of the provincial office of human resources, said local authorities in Nantong attached great importance to attracting top professionals, who have helped transform the city’s economy through their own businesses.

In this aspect, Nantong has set a good example for other cities in the province, said Hu.

One such person is Zhu Yuanyuan, who returned to his home city of Nantong to start his own business after studying and working in Japan and the United States for more than 20 years.

“I am honored to be in this great age of entrepreneurship. I benefited from the plan and my familiarity with the city and soon realized my dream,” said Zhu.

Yuan Hongliang came to Nantong three years ago. Thanks to a series of favorable policies, his company Voltai Energy is growing rapidly in the city.

“The government offers many supporting policies for us and in fact I feel it does better than it promised,” said Yuan.

“Nantong is an ideal place for startups,” he said. “We need to make consistent efforts in pursuit of our entrepreneurship dream.”

The city’s access to the Yangtze River as well as its proximity to Shanghai add to its attractiveness for entrepreneurs.

Convenient transport has made it one of the best choices to house businesses moving out of Shanghai, said businessman Li Quansheng.

Nantong will gradually become a magnet for high-level entrepreneurs and capital, said Li.

Contact the writers through lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn