“Although these well-trained people will eventually return to where they came from, we still expect that they will contribute to the economic development in west China regions.”
This is the common understanding of delegates from west China regions attending the ongoing fifth Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between Eastern and Western China.
Attracted by China’s bold drive to develop its western regions, more and more high-level professionals have swarmed to seek better career opportunities, though many came for short-term projects. After their jobs are finished, they return to homes located in other parts of China.
“Birds of passage” might be the best description for the current flow of high-level professionals in west China, said Zhao Rong, an expert in economic geography.
Given the poor economic and working conditions in west China regions, “we fully understand that well-trained personnel are reluctant to work here,” said Su Sen, deputy governor of Qinghai Province in northwest China.
The “birds of passage” flow of personnel can be considered as a solution for west China’s lack of high-level personnel, Su said.
“We came to work, but also to travel,” said a Shanghai citizen who is conducting a research program in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province.
It is expected that abundant tourist attractions and the bright economic future in west China may lure more talented people to come and start their careers, some experts said.
(Xinhua 04/09/2001)
