Attracting talents

Jia Xiaoyue, 45, established her business in the commodity center after venturing to Italy when she was 16 and returning to China in 2015 following local government calls for overseas Chinese to come home.

"The government probably felt that Qingtian's economic development needed some young blood, people who can sometimes think outside the box and bring creativity.

"When I started my business here, I introduced Italian jewelry brands that were not available in China," she explained.

Jia now runs an Italian restaurant and an import company and hopes to introduce imported products through the restaurant. She recruited Luigi Dellarena, an experienced Italian chef, to head the kitchen.

"At first, Luigi did not want to come, as he thought working in China wouldn't be as easy as in Italy. But I told him that in Italy people with skills such as his are common, but in China he could play a more valuable role. Gradually, I persuaded him and we managed to get him a residence permit here," she said.

Jia believes Qingtian has advantages in attracting foreign merchants and talents. "First, with over 300,000 Qingtian overseas Chinese living abroad, foreign merchants don't have to worry about being deceived by us. Second, foreigners like Italians and Spaniards normally find it easier to adapt to life in Qingtian," she said.

Jia said although Qingtian's market is small, it is an ideal first stop for expanding into the Chinese market. "Recently a close friend of mine, Maria, an Italian jewelry designer decided to start a business here."

In addition to engaging in the import-export trade, many overseas Chinese are choosing to bring new business models back home to contribute to the development of their hometowns.

Among them is Yang Xiaoai, 56, who returned to China in 2019 after being involved in restaurants and international trade in Germany and Ecuador.

Yang invested 20 million yuan to establish an agritourism base themed on the indigenous rice-fish system in Fangshan township, Qingtian. The method was listed as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2005. The base includes an agritourism hotel, experimental farmlands, and an agricultural park, to revitalize the region's unique agricultural heritage.

Yang's agritourism base has been thriving, especially after the World Conference on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems held in Qingtian in 2022.