Experts highlight talent issues at Wuxi summit

Zhou Haijiang, president of the board of directors of HOdo Group Co, shared similar sentiments. He added that companies need to build up their brand name, which would be pivotal to attracting and retaining talent.

Guo Sheng, CEO of Zhilian Recruitment, compared Gen Zs to those born in the 1970s and 1980s. According to Guo, the former group prefers more freelance work and is more likely to be proud of being a member of a strong national company like Huawei or Lining. They may also prefer second-tier cities over first-tier ones due to their belief that the relatively more relaxed working environment could help them achieve work-life balance.

Wuxi has throughout history had a keen focus on attracting the best talents in the country. At the beginning of reforms and opening-up, Wuxi sought to develop its township enterprises by attracting talents from Shanghai.

This focus on talents has been crucial to the city's development. Despite taking up a mere 0.05 percent of the country's land, Wuxi generates an average of 3.4 billion yuan ($510 million) in GDP daily. According to official statistics, Wuxi's per-capita GDP is the highest in China.

In recent times, Wuxi has been stepping up efforts to attract overseas returnees to the city by building a special town for them and offering top-notch education, medical services and shopping facilities.