Zhang Jianguo had opportunities in 2013 to talk face to-face with more than 100 foreign experts in different fields and from different cities about their lives and work in China according to China Daily.

As director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, Zhang held the meetings to push the "1000 Talent Plan", a government-initiated global talent recruitment program. What he found interesting was that the foreign experts expressed no dissatisfaction with their salaries.

"This was a small thing, but it reflected the fact that when talking about introducing high-end foreign talent to work in China, money is no longer an issue," Zhang said. "Before, many employers in China would be reluctant to hire talent from overseas because of the limited recruitment channel, as well as the limited budget."

Zhang said the most common suggestion he heard from the experts focused on simplifying the visa application process. Many also had concerns about their children's education while there was one complaint about the difficulty in getting a driving license because the test is only conducted in Chinese.

"All those concerns provided us a new angle to improve our work. The government role has to be adjusted to provide a better environment, instead of simply initiating recruitment programs," he said.

China's introduction to overseas talent dates back to 1950. As part of the Soviet Union's comprehensive aid program to China, from 1950 to 1960, nearly 30,000 experts from the Soviet Union participated in China's economic development in dozens of fields, including agriculture, energy, transportation, education and technology. The majority of the 156 projects included in China's first Five-Year Plan involved experts from the Soviet Union.

Leaders in government now emphasise the importance of overseas talent working in different situations. Government-funded projects now include recruitment of non-ethnic Chinese experts who are leading experts in science and technology, and innovative teams capable of achieving critical technological breakthroughs, advancing the high-tech industries and promoting new disciplines.

Last year, 42,887 visits were made by overseas experts in the fields of culture and education, and 11,132 visits in the fields of economy and technology.

The “Recruitment Program of Global Experts” (RPFE) is a program designed to recruit non-ethnic Chinese experts, who are strategic scientists, leading experts in science and technology, or internationalised innovative teams capable of achieving critical technological breakthroughs, advancing the high-tech industries and promoting new disciplines.