Foreign Experts Symposium held in Chengdu on Thursday Photo: Zhang Hui/GT

Chengdu needs to further stimulate scientific research and innovation, make foreigners' lives a lot easier and tackle environmental pollution, foreign experts said, as the city vows to attract more foreign talent to help it become more open, innovative and sustainable.

A group of seven experts in education, pharmacy, chemistry, education and engineering from countries including the UK, Switzerland, Thailand and Ukraine participated in a symposium on Thursday to share their experiences and advice on the overall development and foreign talent attraction to the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The Foreign Experts Symposium was jointly organized by the Foreign Talent Research Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology.

Chengdu should further stimulate the innovative vitality of enterprises, colleges and institutes by creating research centers involving international collaboration, promoting international business-to-business cooperation and further adapting international standards, said Jean-Marc Bovet, a Swiss and CTO of CF PharmTech, a pharmaceutical company in East China's Jiangsu Province. 

Tudor Ratiu, an academician at Academia Europaea and chair professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, stressed the importance of applied science and suggested future research and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, space exploration, biotechnology and pollution control.

Chaphiporn Kiatkachatharn, director of the Thailand Exchange Center of Chengdu University, proposed detailed suggestions for the city to bring more convenience to foreigners' lives, such as providing English menus at local restaurants and bilingual road signs.

He also said Chengdu should expand its student exchange programs to include not just college students, but also middle school students, further internationalizing local young students.

Chengdu is committed to becoming an international gateway hub with important influence in pan-Europe and pan-Asia regions by 2035, and a world city of sustainable development by the middle of this century, the local government said.

Ding Xiaobin, director general of the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology, said that Chengdu is eagerly seeking foreign talent in finance, biology, AI, energy and environmental protection. 

He told the Global Times that the Chengdu government will subsidize international projects, conferences and foreign start-ups, and the city has established 35 international communities and optimized medical treatment for foreigners and set up a talent association for policy and service consultations.