China will send more professionals to be trained abroad and introduce more overseas experts to implement the country's strategy of becoming stronger from additional human talent. 

Wan Xueyuan, head of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Conference on International Exchange of Professionals.

Sponsored by the administration, the governmental department in charge of introducing international professionals, the two-day conference kicked off yesterday in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.

Wan said the administration has been given new opportunities in its work, with Premier Wen Jiabao recently stressing the strategy of building the country into one with an abundance of professionals. Wen made such remarks in his 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 meanwhile, 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.

Non-public enterprises participated in the fair for the first time.

The conference, which started 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 and regions are attending this year's conference.

So far 332 professional organizations overseas have been approved by the administration to carry out 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)