Mar. 28 (NBD) -- China's financial hub Shanghai Monday announced its top talent program. 

This came under the heels of Beijing's release of the trial measures on the management of talent introduction. 

Plus Guangzhou and Shenzhen that have opened their doors wide to talents, all of the country's first-tier cities have joined the talent grabs. 

In an exclusive interview with NBD, Dr. Wang Huiyao, counselor for the State Council and founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), the largest independent global think tank in China, shared insights on the reasons behind Beijing and Shanghai's moves and the impact on new first- and second-tier cities, as well as China's talent strategy. 

NBD: A number of Chinese cities have released favorable policies to attract talents since last year. What do you make of it? 

Wang: Talents are the most important resources in the economic and social development. Globally, the competition for talents is fierce. In China, since Wuhan launched a program to attract university students, cities like Chengdu, Changsha, Xi'an, and Guangzhou have announced similar measures. 

Meanwhile, the demographic dividend has disappeared, and the talent dividend age has begun. Cities have come to acknowledge that talents are critical to their innovation, upgrading, and internationalization. Therefore, the war for talents is a good thing, as it could increase cities' awareness about the importance of talents. 

In the past, both first- and second-tier cities set strict regulations concerning permanent residence, thus many people think it is better to stay in first-tier ones like Beijing. The situation, however, is changing. If second-tier cities could make better offers and implement policies in favor of immigrant population, they will stand out as better options for talents.  

NBD: The war for talents hasn't show a sign of fading away since last summer. In your opinion, why local governments are so active in attracting talents?

Wang: Bringing in talents is good for urban development. The competition for talents will urge local governments to upgrade their talent policies, including local policies, industrial advantages, and match degree between industries and talents. 

It is noteworthy that a lot of cities are mainly targeting university graduates when drafting talent policies, but what they need are more than university graduates, as people with professional skills or with experience in business or service are also needed. Cities should be more open in attracting talents. 

NBD: International talents are also targets of local governments. What do you think of the new trend?

Wang: Looking back into the past, it could be seen that China's talent work was based on analysis of domestic and international situations at each stage. In the 13th FYP period, it is vital to enhance technical innovation as GDP growth has been slowing down. In addition, the amount of China's actual outbound investment has surpassed that of the actually utilized foreign investment. It entails at this stage a talent strategy which is based on a global view, and China should be more active in competition for international talents. 

The war for talents should be extended from China to the rest of the world. Chinese cities should reach out for talents worldwide. The joining of first-tier cities in the competition for talents is expected to give a strong boost to the new trend.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn