Young professionals help innovation-driven hub dream come true

For overseas returned Chinese who are looking to start a business, Chengdu ranks No 3 among the most popular destinations in China, according to a report released by the Center for China and Globalization and Zhaopin, one of China's leading job websites, in August.

Another recent report released by Liepin, a job portal, shows that the city took third place in terms of the number of professionals brought in during the first half of this year.

A series of incentives offered by the city government partially explains Chengdu's appeal to the professionals.

The Chengdu government released new policies in July to attract professionals and promote industrial development.

The move will help the city in Sichuan province to develop into an innovation-driven hub and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, which features improved international competitiveness and expanded regional influence, local officials said.

To draw graduates from other cities, local authorities have built 22 inns across the city, providing more than 730 beds in total, which are free of charge for the first seven days.

Zhou Yinan, a master's degree holder who graduated from College of Engineering at Peking University, was one of the first to use the inns in the Tianfu New Area in mid-July.

"I had planned to book a hotel in Chengdu, yet with little knowledge of the city, I had no clue about which one to choose," Zhou said.

After learning of the inns designed for young professionals via WeChat, he filed an application, which was approved via email the following day.

Zhou said he is happy with his well-furnished room.

In addition to accommodation, the inns provide job information, help job seekers with their career plans and facilitate communication between them, local officials said.

"Chengdu is appealing to job hunters," Zhou said.

"The city was my first choice for work after graduation because its high-tech industry is able to compete with those in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, yet living costs are much lower," he said. "The Tianfu New Area focuses on high-tech businesses, which is in line with my personal career development."

Zhou went to Chengdu for a computer engineering job, working for a company developing artificial intelligence. "I plan to settle in Chengdu," he said.

Over the next five years, Chengdu will add another 350,000 apartments to house migrant professionals, according to a city government plan. Construction on the first batch of such apartments started in August.

The city government has also decided to increase financial support to attract experts and foster specialists. It will provide up to 100 million yuan ($14.97 million) to top innovation-driven teams from around the world who plan to start their businesses in Chengdu.

The incentives include "green cards", mostly designed for foreign nationals. The first batch was issued in August to academies and experts on a list of key national recruitment programs, who are authorized to access 24 service items, covering administrative procedures, daily life and business.

The number of items will be increased in the future, local officials said.

At the same time, the government has earmarked a 160-million-yuan special fund to provide free training for residents that have a startup plan.

In addition, the new policies emphasize commercialization and industrialization of research results, value the use and protection of intellectual property, and promote collaboration between higher-learning institutions and the business community.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/04/2017 page20)