Foshan city in Guangdong province recruits foreigners to boost exports
8 July 2014
Five foreign professionals have been recruited by a local government department in Southern China to foster and improve connections with export markets, according to the China Daily.
Tue, 8 Jul 2014Five foreign professionals have been recruited by a local government department in Southern China to foster and improve connections with export markets, according to the China Daily.
The five were selected from a total more than 50 applicants from 10 countries and awarded one-year contracts to work at Foshan city’s Bureau of Commerce in Guangdong province.
Bureau chief Zhou Zitong said the city has been focused on attracting foreign investors to invest in the city with a view to increasing its export capacity.
Foshan’s manufacturing sector helped generate more than $113bn (£66bn) GDP for the region with contributions from emerging industries including automobiles and photo-electronics.
"However, such investment-driven, export-oriented development is unsustainable. To break through the bottleneck, Foshan needs to take these international exchanges to a new level, and that is exchanges of talent," said Zhou.
The bureau has taken on two UK nationals, one US, one Mexican and a Uruguayan.
"We didn't hire the foreign staff as a publicity stunt. Foshan is building an international business environment, and the foreign staff have brought much-needed help to our investment promotion," Zhou said.
“It can be a great advantage to have foreign players in the team during negotiations with a company at the site-selection stage of investment."
Two of the five foreign employees have been working for the investment promotion agency for six months, another started work in early June, and the other two will be in position by the end of the month.
The five were selected from a total more than 50 applicants from 10 countries and awarded one-year contracts to work at Foshan city’s Bureau of Commerce in Guangdong province.
Bureau chief Zhou Zitong said the city has been focused on attracting foreign investors to invest in the city with a view to increasing its export capacity.
Foshan’s manufacturing sector helped generate more than $113bn (£66bn) GDP for the region with contributions from emerging industries including automobiles and photo-electronics.
"However, such investment-driven, export-oriented development is unsustainable. To break through the bottleneck, Foshan needs to take these international exchanges to a new level, and that is exchanges of talent," said Zhou.
The bureau has taken on two UK nationals, one US, one Mexican and a Uruguayan.
"We didn't hire the foreign staff as a publicity stunt. Foshan is building an international business environment, and the foreign staff have brought much-needed help to our investment promotion," Zhou said.
“It can be a great advantage to have foreign players in the team during negotiations with a company at the site-selection stage of investment."
Two of the five foreign employees have been working for the investment promotion agency for six months, another started work in early June, and the other two will be in position by the end of the month.
