Better services to lure overseas talent to Changning

Changning District launched a specialized online-offline service platform to serve and attract talent from both home and abroad.

The platform named "Changning Talent" incorporates a talent database, a WeChat account and various service stations scattering around its neighborhoods.

The professionals listed in the database can take advantage of "green channels" at the district's banks, hospitals and cultural venues.

They can also ask for help through the WeChat account and receive "tailored service" at the service centers, the district government said.

Some 300 experts and professionals have been initially listed in the talent database. They come from universities, research institutes and enterprises based in Changning.

A special service menu for them has also been publicized, covering services on human resources, educational medical and cultural facilities, and legal consultancy. More services will be added according to demand, the government said.

"Changning aims to attract global talent with world-class services," said Wang Weiren, the district's Party secretary.

The district government awarded 115 excellent professionals working in the district on Thursday, including 10 top "talents" from both home and abroad selected by the Changning government.

Changning recorded 7,815 overseas professionals working in the district by the end of 2016. It has established the city's first district-level foreign expert bureau to serve these highly skilled professionals from abroad and has issued 1,640 work permits, according to the district.

The district has opened a "one-stop service center" for residence permits, foreign expert certificates and related documents. It is located on Jinzhong Road in the Hongqiao area.

Officials announced on Thursday that five smaller service stations for foreign talent have been newly opened in Xinhua, Jiangsu, Hongqiao, Tianshan and Chengqiao communities.

Changning still needs many more professionals from across the world, especially with regard to civil aviation, Internet Plus, and fashion and innovation industries, according to a white book about talent development in the district released on Thursday.

In total, Changning has gathered 273,600 talented workers from both home and abroad, which accounts for nearly half of the district's total employment, according to the white book.

About 70,000 residents from abroad are living in Changning, accounting for about 30 percent of the city's total foreign population.