Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is set to make full use of its geographic advantages and build a special district for top talents from its neighboring ASEAN, Cao Kunhua, director of the Guangxi Science and Technology Department, said on Feb 24.

Guangxi is the only region of its kind in China that borders ASEAN countries both by land and sea, and has been designated a frontier area for opening-up and cooperation with ASEAN.

Cao said that Guangxi will seek to attract talents from ASEAN countries and turn the region into a cluster for high-caliber talents, innovation resources as well as international communication and cooperation. 

Currently, the region has established intergovernmental bilateral technology transfer working mechanisms with nine ASEAN countries, and has joint working groups on technology transfer with seven ASEAN countries.

The region has been one of the first batch of areas in China to implement a scheme which invites outstanding young scientists from ASEAN to work in China.

Cao said that the region will focus on technological innovation and industrial revitalization to further optimize projects and platforms for overseas talents. Employers in Guangxi are encouraged to attract high-caliber overseas experts to carry out scientific research in Guangxi.

In order to improve the entrepreneurship and innovation environment for global talents, Guangxi will take initiatives such as building special hospitals and libraries for overseas experts.

The region will grasp development opportunities brought by major national strategies such as the construction of the Belt and Road, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, in order to prompt national or high-level innovation platforms to set up branches in Guangxi, offering strong support for Guangxi to build at least one regional innovation center for ASEAN in each field.