The Pudong New Development Area in China's largest city of Shanghai is planning to lure more talented Chinese students studying abroad to return and serve in local government and private enterprises.

In a major overseas talent recruitment campaign to be launched this October,the third of its kind since 2001,the Pudong New Area government will offer a number of senior official posts for overseas students who would like to join the city's civil service,official sources said.

Meanwhile,more than 20leading domestic enterprises based in Pudong will also provide some 180senior managerial posts for overseas staff,with a maximum annual salary of 100,000US dollars.

A delegation of representatives will soon leave for Europe to look for staff,and the delegation will meet applicants in Frankfurt,Paris and London between October 12-19.

Relevant information regarding the recruitment will also be released via the official websites, www.pudong.gov.cn and www.pudongos.com.

A suburban rural district of Shanghai a decade ago,Pudong has rapidly emerged as a booming financial,trade and shipping center due to China's reforms and opening-up policy.

In 2001,the Pudong New Area government launched a project called "The return of 1,000overseas talents",which aimed to attract 1,000highly competent staff with expertise in areas like finance,high technology and management,to return in three to five years.

In the past two years,the Pudong New Area government has sent delegations to the United States,Canada and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to recruit talented and skilled personnel for both government departments and local enterprises.

As a result,the number of returned overseas staff working in Pudong has increased to over 4,900from nearly 3,000in 2001,while many returned students have joined local governments and even the local legislature and Party organizations.

(eastday.com August 17, 2003)