The State-level Guangzhou Development District has updated its talent attraction policy to spur the innovative and entrepreneurial activities that have fueled its dynamic growth.

GDD, which is located in Huangpu district in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, has demonstrated a strong economic development that is in need of professionals at different levels.

Based on the first version launched in 2017, the second talent attraction policy adds new subsidy items, expands the scope, simplifies application qualifications and changes the selection pattern to make it one of the best in China, said He Mindan, deputy director of GDD's organization department, at a news briefing on May 12.

The second version, which includes 10 articles, will be effective for three years starting from May 17, He said. It covers awards to professionals, subsidies to talent projects, housing allowance awards to skillful workers, and awards to service agencies.

According to the local government, the policy mainly attracts professionals in the industries of science and technology, finance and intellectual property. It also renders support to doctorate and postdoctoral experts who are engaged in fundamental research and applied research, and optimizes the subsidy for skillful workers, educational and health professionals, and university graduates.

"It's a comprehensive policy where professionals, their projects and the companies that introduced talent as well as the platforms and agencies involved in talent attraction will all get corresponding support," said Zhou Jin'gao, director of the human resources and social security department of Huangpu district.

"We aim to turn human resources into human capital," he noted.

According to the new professionals attraction policy, top-level professionals will be provided with free apartments while the professionals at lower levels can get a housing allowance of up to 5 million yuan ($703,420), which can solve the housing problems of the professionals amid rising house prices.

Top-level professionals who are bringing in projects can access a fund of up to 1.5 billion yuan from the local government. Second-level professionals can receive a startup subsidy of no more than 10 million yuan and an investment award of another 10 million yuan.

Companies or institutes that set up a postdoctoral research center or innovation center in GDD will gain a subsidy of up to 500,000 yuan.

The postdoctoral experts who are in research centers can be entitled to a living allowance of 200,000 yuan, a startup fund of 150,000 yuan for their scientific research project and an award of no more than 100,000 yuan.

The local government also encourages headhunting companies and talent service agencies to introduce professionals and quality projects and attract new companies.

Once they are recognized as high-end talent service organizations, they can receive a subsidy of 300,000 yuan annually and another 300,000 yuan as a reward for successfully introducing a qualified professional, according to the new policy. The annual accumulative award will be no more than 3 million yuan each.

Zhang Jiancun, chairman of Guangzhou Henovcom Bioscience, a company that is engaged in the research of new medicine, said the government is generous in attracting professionals, which can benefit companies a lot.

"Professionals are essential to the development of high-tech companies, especially in the industries of biomedicine, artificial intelligence, new energy and new materials. The policy is very strong and attractive to win over professionals," Zhang said.

According to the local government, it has arranged a more than 1.4 billion yuan fund to subsidize and award individuals and companies since the first version was launched in 2017, benefiting at least 4,000 experts.

The number of professionals that were recognized as talent by programs at different levels rose from 200 to 925, ranking first in Guangzhou by district. More than 160 State-level professionals are operating projects or businesses in the district, providing big support to local economic development.