AIMING HIGH: A press conference on the upcoming 3rd China International Service Outsourcing Cooperation Conference in Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, is held in Beijing on May 25, 2010 (LI YUZHU)

The 3^rd China International Service Outsourcing Cooperation Conference will be held at the International Exposition Center in Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, from June 11 to 12.

Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the Jiangsu Provincial Government, the conference is designed to set up a platform for international communication and cooperation, while establishing a world-class service outsourcing brand in China.

Conference activities will include a summit, an exhibition, and a symposium, as well as a business matchmaking meeting.

With themes of professionalization, internationalization and green economy, the summit will focus on the rapid growth of the service outsourcing industry in China and the new trend of global service outsourcing in the wake of the financial crisis. Participants will also discuss approaches to developing the service outsourcing industry, building green industries, guiding the economic transformation model, and realizing leapfrog development in China.

More than 600 people are expected to participate in the summit, including local and central government officials and chief executives from multinational companies such as IBM from the United States, SAP from Germany, and Wipro from India.

More than 200 foreign and domestic outsourcing enterprises will join the exhibition during the event, along with some demonstration cities and districts in Jiangsu.

The matchmaking meeting is designed to provide a platform for communication between 300 enterprises at home and 80 businesses overseas. These enterprises, covering the fields of animation, software, research and development (R&D) of applied technology, and pharmaceutical R&D, will discuss outsourcing as well as investment and cooperation.

The conference also includes a seminar on service outsourcing policies, a seminar on a rating system for leading and growing enterprises in this regard, and a ceremony awarding China's outstanding personnel in the service outsourcing field, the first such awards in China.

Compared with the two conferences previously held in 2008 and 2009, this conference is expected to attract more world-known companies, specialists and professionals, with a higher standard for participating businesses. Businesses must have at least $8 million in annual outsourcing contracts, and their representatives at the conference must be outsourcing managers or higher-level officials.

Wang Shouwen, vice mayor of Nanjing, views the conference as a good opportunity to promote the healthy and fast development of the city's economy and shift its economic development model. It is also a good chance to make full use of the city's educated talents and tap into potential science and technology innovation, he said.

"The conference has also provided an opportunity for domestic and overseas businesses to learn more about the service outsourcing industry in Nanjing and explore the possibility of investing in the city," said Wang.