With 25 years of continuous economic growth since 1978 when China adopted its reform and opening-up policy, China has gradually strengthened its once-weak human resources sector.

A latest measure is the first conference focusing on developing the country's human resources policies.

The conference, which will be held in Beijing from Dec.19 -20, and attended by most of China's top leaders, aims to create more favorable human resources policies by removing regulatory barriers.

"These policies will surely set up another milestone for China," said Wang Tongxun, vice president of the Chinese Talents Society.

The word "talent" appeared in the on-line version of the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party of China's mouthpiece, more than 300,000 times in the past year, a sign the Party was paying more attention to the issue.

China's tradition of respecting the skills of professionals can be traced back to China's 5,000-year history.

In 2001, China for the first time brought the skills issue to national level as governments of different levels set fostering professional skills as a major element of leaders' duties.

As a concrete step, the government installed in 2002 a special team, consisting of members from 13 ministries, in charge of the planning, policy research, macro guidance and coordination of the program to improve work skills nationwide.

China has so far removed many barriers to the free flow of labor in a bid to allow professionals to change jobs at will, said Wang, greatly improving the nation's efficiency.

Household registration is the first barrier China must overcome. Last June, Shanghai implemented a temporary dwelling permit to offer some Chinese and foreign staff privileges previously enjoyed only by Shanghai citizens. By last July, more than 21,000 Chinese and 2,000 people from overseas received the permits.

Another impetus for China's drive to improve labor skills is the growing human resources sector. The personnel ministry said the country now has 28 nation-level employment agencies and over 4,000 state owned job agencies, together with a huge number owned by foreign or private companies. Thousands of job fairs have been held annually in recent years, offering millions of job opportunities.

China's college graduates are now accustomed to finding jobs using Internet websites, mobile phone short messages, and other modern methods.

Statistics from the Ministry of Personnel show that the country now has 28.344 million skilled professionals. But, given the great need for professionals in the future, the country still has a long way to go in fostering talent.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2003)