A scene in The War of the Rohirrim. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As Warner Bros' animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim debuts globally, a company from Guizhou province has left its mark, having contributed keyframe animation, coloring and cinematography to the movie.

At the helm is Xu Chenyin, manager of Junzi Qianxing Technology Media. Xu, who was a former animation professional in Japan, runs the company in Guiyang, the provincial capital. He also serves as a member of the Guizhou Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

During the provincial legislative session in January, Xu submitted a proposal on promoting the development of Guizhou's service outsourcing industry.

"Guizhou has the potential to attract high-value outsourcing projects such as digital services and creative design," he said. "With the increasing specialization of international labor, developed countries are outsourcing non-core services to regions with lower costs and higher efficiency."

Guiyang has already seen growth in the industry. According to local authorities, service outsourcing execution in the city grew 16.58 percent year-on-year in 2024, with offshore outsourcing surging 59.18 percent and domestic outsourcing increasing 12.67 percent.

Beyond direct benefits, Xu said he believes that service outsourcing can accelerate industrial upgrades.

However, he also pointed out a major challenge: a shortage of skilled talent.

"In today's decentralized production landscape, geographical barriers are no longer an issue in joining the global industry. The real challenge lies in addressing the talent gap."

This year, Xu recommended "partnering with universities, research institutes and enterprises to optimize academic programs based on market demands, introduce globally recognized certification courses and strengthen practical training".

He also suggested launching targeted recruitment initiatives in fields such as big data, artificial intelligence and business negotiations while offering competitive incentives.

Xu highlighted the collaboration between Guizhou's big data and service outsourcing sectors.

"In animation, for example, big data offers a wealth of image, audio and video resources that serve as valuable references for production," Xu said.

One key example is rendering - the process of converting 3D scenes into 2D images. This resource-intensive animation step often demands costly hardware.

"Cloud computing resources, developed through its data industry, offer a cost-effective solution. Cloud rendering platforms reduce production cycles and costs," Xu explained.