Wan Xueyuan, head of the State Bureau of Foreign Experts Affairs, said yesterday that China will soon become even more active in attracting foreign personnel.

The bureau is planning to attract foreign experts with high-level knowledge and practical experience of management to help train personnel in China in an effort to improve their general quality after China's entry into the WTO, according to Wan.

The bureau will also work to bring in more foreign experts to help develop the western areas. The experts needed for this will be involved in traditional areas like agriculture, industry, stock breeding and education, and also in some modern fields, such as bioengineering and management consulting.

During the International Symposium for 2001's Foreign Experts Projects held by the foreign expert bureau in September, 3,690 agreements were reached with international organizations and human resources consultation companies. A total of 1,232 projects concern the development of the western areas, according to the bureau.

At a three-day national meeting on foreign experts that opened yesterday, the official said that foreign personnel working in China have contributed significantly to the advancement of agriculture and the re-adjustment of China's industries.

Foreign experts have also helped China in fields such as law, the media, culture, the arts, sanitation and sports, Wan noted.

Over the past two years, the number of agricultural projects supported by national grants reached more than 2,800, using 3,800 foreign professionals, which accounts for 30 percent of the total number of invited foreign experts in China.

The bureau has established co-operative ties with more than 300 international organizations, famous universities and non-governmental societies from 60 countries and regions, according to the bureau source.

Wan noted that human resources are the primary force behind economic development.

Commenting on the reform of the government's management of foreign experts affairs, Wan said private funds will be introduced to expand the number of foreign experts recruited.

In East China's Zhejiang Province, nine enterprises promised to pay high salaries (US$360,000 to US$600,000 per annum) to their foreign experts, said Wan.

Wan stressed that more money from the State's budget will be used to develop the west.

The president also announced yesterday that the bureau is planning to establish an international human resources market in Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park in the northwest part of Beijing to expand the country's cooperation with the outside world.

(China Daily November 30, 2000)