Market liberalization boosting talent attraction

China’s opening-up over the past 40 years has not only driven global trade but has also added fuel to market liberalization, which is conducive to attracting overseas companies and talented personnel, said Stephan Howeg, chief marketing and communications officer of Adecco Group.

His comments came as China has been going full steam ahead in further opening up the economy in terms of improving market access and reducing tariffs in some key sectors.

“The great development that China has achieved in past decades is very important for trade globally, and for attracting companies to China to further liberalize the market,” Howeg said.

“This (the new round of opening-up) is very visionary on the one hand, and also necessary for attracting talented personnel, as there will be an increasing number of companies investing in China,” he said.

Switzerland-headquartered Adecco is a Forbes 500 company and the world’s largest human resources solutions provider.

In 2010, Adecco and China’s homegrown FESCO Group set up FESCO Adecco, a jointventure human resources services company based in Shanghai. In mid-May this year, FESCO Adecco established a subsidiary in Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

At the launch ceremony, Rolf Dorig, Adecco’s chairman, said that the high-quality science and education resources in Xi’an are advantageous for the human resources industry’s development. The company will leverage the city’s talent pool and international network to boost local economic growth, he said.

Wang Yie, Party secretary and president of FESCO Group, said the company is fully prepared to attract more talented personnel and multinationals to Xi’an. He said they have benefited significantly from the local government’s services, so that the joint venture can rapidly launch operations in the city.

Agreeing with Wang, Howeg said: “In the Chinese market, we receive a lot of support from the government, as human resources have been a strong pillar for the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Looking ahead, the company will make additional investments and expand its business in China, Howeg said. “The development in Asia, particularly in China, has been a big success. Since we have established our joint venture, FESCO Adecco has continued to maintain a high growth rate.”

He said that the joint venture now trains one million employees in China every day, which is more than the combined figure of employees that Adecco trains daily in the rest of the world.

China rose to No 43 on the 2018 Global Talent Competitiveness Index this year, from No 54 in 2017. Switzerland led the way in terms of talent competitiveness, followed by Singapore and the United States.