Xinjiang is poised to lure more foreign talent to the autonomous region, according to a plan announced by the State Administration for Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) on Monday in Beijing.

The decision came on the heels of studies conducted in the region on previously successful projects with foreign experts.

In light of the State Council's campaign to further promote economic and social development in Xinjiang, which was launched late last year, SAFEA decided to enhance foreign expertise-introduction projects there.

"The government will ensure sufficient investment in foreign expertise-introduction and personnel training in Xinjiang," SAFEA director Ji Yunshi said.

Priority will be given to developing modern agriculture - particularly the introduction and promotion of high-quality cotton varieties, water-saving irrigation techniques, mechanized harvesting technology, new livestock breeds, economic planting and forestry cultivation.

Xinjiang's industrial developmental focus will shift from traditional natural resource areas to hi-tech areas with low resource consumption and less pollution.

The move also aims to upgrade management and personnel training in the region through high-level personnel training programs, such as sending five to 10 officials and professionals in the areas of scientific research, healthcare, engineering and technical fields abroad for training for at least six months.

Government support offers the autonomous region great development opportunities, professor Tang Lijiu from the Xinjiang East-West Economic Institute said.

The market-oriented development strategy will enhance dynamic interaction between the country's western and eastern regions, Tang added.

An increasing amount of foreign talent has been coming to the country in recent years, with numerous cooperation projects. More than half of these projects have run in western and rural areas, including Xinjiang.

In 2004, SAFEA launched a "foreign talents benefit Xinjiang" project. The project has invited and funded more than 1,400 high-level overseas professionals to work in Xinjiang and sent more than 3,500 local leaders abroad for training.

Xinjiang has nine State-level pilot zones for overseas expertise introduction, including the Changji watermelon-planting center and the Aksu organic rice-planting center.

Over the past five years, the mainland attracted 1.25 million foreign professionals and 750,000 professionals from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The government also sent 150,000 people abroad for training.