Wan Xueyuan, head of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA), said at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Conference on International Exchange of Professionals that China will send more professionals to be trained abroad and invite more foreign experts here to implement the country's strategy to increase strength through human talent.

The two-day SAFEA-sponsored conference started Sunday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Wan said that Premier Wen Jiabao's recent emphasis on building the country with an abundance of professionals presents new opportunities to SAFEA. Wen made the remarks in his official work report to the National People's Congress earlier this month.

"We will strengthen efforts to send government professionals, enterprise managers and experts in certain fields to training programs abroad and introduce overseas talent in the country's western provinces and the northeastern industrial base," Wen said.

In the coming years, the administration will also provide services to enterprises, including those in the private sector.

Private enterprises participated in the fair for the first time.

The conference, which was first held in 2001, is a platform for organizations, institutions and universities in China and for foreign professional organizations.

Some 240 foreign professional exchange groups from more than 30 countries are attending this year's conference.

So far, SAFEA has approved 332 professional organizations overseas to conduct international professional exchanges in China.

The conference opened a new special section this year for Chinese professionals who are returning from abroad after years of study to find jobs at home.

Nearly 250 large and medium-sized enterprises and universities have so far provided a total of 4,000 jobs for returnees, attracting 3,000 professionals.

(China Daily March 29, 2004)