Guangzhou has become a hotspot for returned talents, as the city has attracted more than 67,000 overseas returnees as of July 2017, according to statistics released by the Guangzhou foreign experts bureau.

According to a report released by Zhaopin.com and the Center for China and Globalization, Guangzhou is the fourth favored place for returned talents to start up a business, with 5.9 percent of returned talents coming to the city. The top three cities include Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, which have attracted 24.3 percent, 8.1 percent and 6.6 percent of returned talents, respectively.

Zhang Jiancun went to study in the US in 1985. After getting his PhD, Zhang came back to China to work at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Zhang has worked in new medicine research in Guangzhou for 12 years.

"What attracted me to Guangzhou is its high level of academic research and premium environment, including its education, medical care and economic strength," Zhang said. "More and more people like me chose to settle in Guangzhou, which shows that the city's global exposure is increasing."

In early May, Shi Zhongmin, an artificial intelligence (AI) expert with a PhD, signed a contract to settle his company Summba in Guangzhou. Summba, founded in North America in 2009, is engaged in deep semantic analysis and is committed to developing smart home devices and robots which can understand human language.

"What we are working on is cutting-edged technology, and we had to find a city whose industry development matches our own development," said Shi.  

With Guangzhou pushing ahead with its IAB initiative, namely developing emerging industries in information technology, AI and biological medicine, more global talents in these areas are heading towards the city.