The Tongzhou district of Nantong city – located in East China's Jiangsu province – is moving to recruit more first-class people to boost its workforce and develop its economy.

One initiative to do so was the staging of the Tongzhou 510 Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. One of the series of competitions was held on June 22 in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.

In a boost to the district, enterprises signed preliminary agreements concerning five projects at the event that day.

Contestants in the Tongzhou 510 Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition pose for a group photo. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

"The competition is an important channel for us to introduce high-level talent," said Jiang Yan, general manager of Nantong Huateng Optical Instrument Co Ltd, who identified a much-needed project at the competition.

In order to attract more young innovative and entrepreneurial talent to settle down in Tongzhou, priorities are being given to eligible projects to apply for inclusion in talent programs and sci-tech research projects.

The Tongzhou 510 Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition is a major initiative launched by the district to attract top people. Oriented by industry-talent-city integrated development, the district is moving to build a benchmark platform – attracting talent, technologies, projects and funds around construction, smart agriculture, life health and other fields.

The winning projects can directly participate in the review and defense section of the 510 Talent Program and obtain up to 5 million yuan ($746,500) of financial support, according to an official of the organization department of the Tongzhou district Party committee.