Universities and enterprises in Northwest China's Shaanxi province have been aided in scientific research and economic development by a project introducing foreign experts to work there.

Wang Shuguo, president of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said his school, with the support of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and Ministry of Education, attached great importance to the introduction of foreign experts, international cooperation and exchanges.

"Since 2006, six bases for introducing foreign experts to create new disciplines have been established in our school, and our scientific research and economic development were greatly promoted by them," Wang said.

The project was launched in 1983 to learn and master foreign advanced management techniques and practical skills by introducing foreign experts and sending Chinese people to be trained abroad, according to Lyu Ge, deputy director of the Policy and Regulation Department under the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.

With the cooperation and exchanges between the school and foreign experts, Xi'an Jiaotong University enjoyed a number of international-level scientific achievements in recent years, Wang said.

According to Luo Jun, president of Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, his school won approval for a 5.31 million yuan ($865,000) investment in foreign expert introductions from the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, which greatly supported inviting more foreign experts to his school for teaching and scientific research.

"We have signed cooperation agreements with 135 universities and research institutes in 32 countries and regions, including some of the world's top 100 universities and built 10 platforms for international cooperation and exchanges in our school,"Luo said.

From 2007, Luo added, his school sent some 100 students annually to foreign universities for doctorate studies.

Liu Xingsheng, president of Xi'an Juguang Technical Company in the Xi'an High-tech Industrial and Development Zone, was an overseas student and introduced as a foreign expert by the Xi'an government in 2007 when he set up his own company with 33.85 million yuan of registered capital.

"Our company started operations in June 2008 to develop and produce high-power semiconductor lasers and, supported by the project of introducing foreign experts, we have invited more than 70 foreign experts to work in our company since 2009," Liu said.

Two foreign experts, Guodong Xu from Canada and Steven Chi Chen from the United States, have been invited as deputy general managers to work year-round in the company, Liu said.