A two-day conference kicked off in this city on Friday, providing a platform for local businesses and organizations to find foreign staff.

"We will try to make full use of local and international talents," said Ji Yunshi, director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA), at the opening of the annual Conference on International Exchange of Professionals.

The event is part of the administration's strategy to connect foreign professionals with local recruiters, he said.

The conference is the nation's highest-level personnel exchange, with more than 3,000 foreigners participating from more than 40 countries and regions.

More than 5,200 delegates from 2,500 local organizations and companies will attend the event. They're seeking cooperation with international recruitment companies for more than 5,000 projects.

More than 50 companies and organizations from Hong Kong will attend the conference.

It's the sixth time the event, which began in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, has been held. More than 2,000 deals were made at last year's conference, held in Shenyang, Liaoning Province.

The event has become a key channel for local companies to find foreign staff, with more than 13,800 agreements reached so far.

Harvey Phillips, senior consultant of the Yihua International Cultural Exchange and Development Center in Sichuan Province, said he hopes to bring more US teachers and students to China to build mutual understanding of the two countries.

(China Daily December 1, 2007)