China needs the help of more international professionals and
specialists to build itself into a country strong in innovation, Ji
Yunshi, director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts
Affairs (SAFEA), said in an interview with China Daily
reporter Wang Ying. Below is an excerpt:
Q: How does foreign expertise benefit the country's western and
rural areas?
A: The introduction of foreign expertise has helped the
integrated development of urban and rural areas and balanced
regional development. It has contributed to the harmonious
development between human beings and nature.
More than half of the overseas cooperation projects have been
implemented in western and rural areas in the past few years,
including those in Xinjiang.
By bringing with them advanced management experience, foreign
professionals also help optimize agricultural management structures
and train thousands of rural personnel.
Q: What are the priorities for personnel exchanges in the next
few years?
A: We will give priority to hi-tech areas including projects
that involve software and integrated circuits, energy saving and
clean energy, new materials, and biotech and agricultural
technologies.
We will also support the development of China's service industry
by inviting overseas financial and insurance professionals and send
managers overseas for training, especially in financial and
credit-risk management.
Q: How will you enhance innovation among Chinese enterprises and
bring in foreign expertise at the same time?
A: As the largest developing country in the world, China needs
to learn from the successes of other countries in areas like
economic development, technology innovation and societal
progress.
We will promote exchanges and cooperation with other countries
and strive for win-win partnerships and sustained development.
These projects will focus on making significant breakthroughs in
key technologies using our own independent intellectual property
rights.
For example, with the help of United States and Canadian
experts, the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Modern
Physics in Lanzhou in Gansu Province has developed its own heavy
ion gene targeting system for cancer treatment, making China the
fourth country in the world, after the US, Japan and Germany, to
use heavy ions for clinical cancer treatment.
Q: What about the SAFEA's overseas training plans?
A: SAFEA has been focusing on overseas training, especially
senior personnel training. We encourage the building of "three
teams" - senior interdisciplinary personnel and reserve cadres for
the Party and the government, operational and managerial personnel
of enterprises, and professional technicians.
We will continue the Senior Government Officials Overseas
Training Program or the Harvard Training Program, the Training
Project for Young and Middle-aged Leading Cadres, the University
Presidents Overseas Training Project, and the Training Courses for
Senior Personnel in Industrial Enterprises.
Q: What are the SAFEA's latest achievements and future plans for
promoting international personnel exchanges?
A: In recent years, the SAFEA has kept up its efforts to
strengthen international personnel exchanges and cooperation to
make full use of domestic and international human resources.
We have been holding the annual China Conference on the
International Exchange of Professionals, the Sino-US Technology and
Engineering Conference, the China-Canada Agri-Science and
Innovation Fair, the Sino-Russian Engineering Technology Seminar
and the International Forum on Engineering Management.
These have helped establish advanced platforms for introducing
foreign expertise. We have signed memorandums or agreements for
cooperation with the Chamber of Technology of Greece, the Higher
Education Authority of Ireland, the Korea Human Resource Developing
Center and the Russia Scientific and Technological Engineering
Association. We have also been giving out the Friendship, Marco
Polo and Yanhuang awards annually.
We will increase efforts to bring in top-class overseas
expertise, enhance overseas training, and deepen international
personnel exchanges and cooperation.
We will build a favorable environment for bringing in foreign
expertise and hope to make greater contributions to China's
scientific, harmonious and peaceful development.
(China Daily November 30, 2007)
