The 8th Guangdong Investment Development Forum and the 2024 annual Guangdong Investment Promotion Association (GDIPA) conference were held in Guangzhou on March 26. The forum aimed to explore new pathways and opportunities for talent-driven economic development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The event, themed around talent development in GBA, drew more than 500 senior executives from Fortune Global 500 companies, listed companies, industrial leaders, financing service providers, local investment promotion agencies, universities, and research institutes.

Addressing the event's opening ceremony, Ling Weixian, GDIPA honorary president, emphasized the need for innovative talents to lead technological innovation during enterprises' iterative growth.

He said it is important to continuously seek and assimilate knowledge, seize opportunities, and nurture talents capable of adapting to changing development trends.

Liu Yuelun, former chairman of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, delivered a speech at the event. [Photo provided to guangdong.chinadaily.com.cn]

In his speech, Liu Yuelun, former chairman of the CPPCC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, proposed that transitioning from a demographic dividend to a quality talent dividend be essential for China's high-quality development.

"The transition requires a talent system and a favorable environment for the development of private enterprises, and we should focus on talent teams as the core in our efforts to secure investments," he said, adding that more attention should be paid to the application of artificial intelligence and the creativity of senior talents to fully leverage the value and role that high-end talents bring to today's society.

Shao Jingbo, deputy director-general of GDD's administrative committee, speaks during the event. [Photo provided to guangdong.chinadaily.com.cn]

"I think this year's theme is of great significance," said Shao Jingbo, deputy director of the administrative committee of GDD. "High-quality talent development is the fundamental premise for high-quality development of an enterprise, a region, and a country."

Shao heftily attributed GDD's success story over the past four decades to the sustained inflow and aggregation of global talents, including those from multinational companies like P&G and Amway.

"It is precisely because of the contribution of these talents that GDD has maintained its sustained momentum and become Guangzhou's major base for real economy, main driving force for technological innovation, and key area for reform and opening up," he said.

A ceremony honoring the GDIPA expert consultants is held during the event. [Photo provided to guangdong.chinadaily.com.cn]

On the same occasion, organizers held ceremonies to honor the GDIPA expert consultants and recruit new association members while bestowing business environment innovation practice awards on 14 economic zones, service teams, and industrial parks in GBA.

Official statistics indicate that in 2023, 1,078 newly settled foreign-funded enterprises entered Guangdong's manufacturing sector, an increase of 29.9 percent from 2022.

Total paid-in foreign capital was 49.22 billion yuan ($6.81 billion) in 2023, growing 11.7 percent from 2022 and accounting for 30.9 percent of the province's total paid-in foreign capital.

According to statistics released by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Commerce in late January, paid-in foreign investment in the high-tech manufacturing sector was 25.09 billion yuan in 2023, surging by 40.5 percent and making up 51 percent of the total figure for the manufacturing sector.