An offshore wind farm in Nantong. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Nearly 100 doctoral researchers from Chinese and international institutions gathered in Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, on July 17 for a marine industry career fair.

Nearly 40 key enterprises in Qidong, specializing in shipbuilding, marine engineering, offshore equipment and marine new energy, held face-to-face talks with the attending doctoral candidates.

At the event, the city also released its measures to support the development of marine talents — a policy package dubbed the "Tong Nine Rules".

The framework is designed to cover the full cycle of talent development, from recruitment and cultivation to deployment and retention. It focuses on four key groups: leading talents, innovators and entrepreneurs, young professionals, and skilled technicians.

The policy rollout reflects Nantong's broader push to align with China's maritime power strategy and Jiangsu's coastal development priorities, positioning talents as the driving force behind the city's emerging marine new-quality productive forces.

In recent years, Nantong has actively recruited doctoral researchers from both domestic and overseas institutions, channeling intellectual capital into its industrial transformation.