Beijing is offering 17 government posts to highly qualified people overseas to improve the decision-making capacity and global perspective of the local government.

The jobs, which were offered recently, are part of the city’s third round of overseas talent recruitment that targets both qualified foreigners and Chinese nationals who are living overseas.

The 17 positions include four in the municipal government and 13 divided among 10 of Beijing’s district governments, according to a report on Nov 9 in Beijing Daily.

For detailed job information, applicants can visit bjrcgz.gov.cn, bjrbj.gov.cn, 8610hr.cn or juxian.com.

The first round of recruitment began in 2012. At that time, only seven high-level posts were available.

According to Beijing’s regulation on government jobs for overseas talent, “high-level” refers to individuals who have earned a doctorate at a prestigious university outside China, and have held a high position at well-known institutions of higher learning, enterprises, financial institutions, law firms, international organizations, NGOs or governments.

Successful candidates will be eligible for a salary in line with international standards and will be included in the Beijing overseas talent gathering project. Participants in the project are eligible for favorable policies, including salary, Beijing household registration and social security benefits.

Ge Wei, marketing manager of Lockin China, a website that provides job information to Chinese students overseas, said workers in Chinese governments who were trained outside the country can help domestic enterprises develop overseas markets because they understand both China and the world.

“Many of them have studied at the world’s top universities or worked in the top 500 companies, so they know the trends and direction of each field well. Their presence in government will drive progress in different fields,” she said.

As many still lack clear expectations about working in government, only a small percentage of highly qualified foreigners or Chinese nationals will choose to do so. Therefore the program is bound to improve the situation, she said.

“The Lockin China survey shows that foreign enterprises would be the first choice for the majority of overseas students if they come back to China. The second-most-popular choice is State-owned enterprises,” she said.

“People who choose to work for government are few and far between. I believe the move will promote understanding and draw more overseas talent to the government sector.”