Residents Go Overseas to Seek Their Fortunes
Shanghai has become a favourite investment spot with foreigners eager
to get a financial foothold in China.
And with the development of its export-oriented economy, the city looks set to become an international trade and financial centre on the west bank of the Pacific Ocean.

But many Shanghai people are not content simply to sit and wait for the foreigners to come to them-they want to go abroad themselves to try their luck.
The Shanghainese have a reputation for being able to find work the world over. Before the founding of New China in 1949, hundreds of thousands of them were trading throughout the world.

In the 1950s and 1960s when the country was pursuing its closeddoor policy, hundreds of factories, research institutes and universities--involving more than 1 million people-were moved from Shanghai into the inland areas to support the nation's socialist construction. Now,people with Shanghai accents can be found all over the country.
The current policy of developing the export-oriented economy in the coastal areas has stimulated the Shanghai people's desire to head off for foreign parts.
And, according to the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily, the best way for them to do this is to engage in business or provide labour and technical services to other countries.

Shanghai has too many people chasing too few jobs, so this surplus labour force could solve the labour shortages which exist in some other parts of the world.
Workers' monthly wages abroad can be 100 times what they are in China-although the cost of Iiving is likely to be much higher in some countrtes.
Furthermore, while working overseas, the Chinese workers would get the chance to learn advanced technology and to become entrepreneurs and specialists, thus promoting trade and economic co-operation between China and other countries.
Jiefang Daily suggests locai authorities should take the following measures to promote exports of labour:

Set up labour service groups to undertake contractual projects abroad. Shanghai workers have taken part in many overseas projects in the past, such as construction of railways, factories and other buildings. With their high reputation, they would be a force to be reckoned with on the world labour market.

Estahlish employer-employee introduction offices. Drivers, repairmen, nurses, housemaids, hairdressers, cooks and workers involved in gardening and construction are in great demand in many countries and these offices could provide training and act as a bridge between employers and employees.

Encourage peopie to look for jobs themselves. As many Shanghai residents have relatives overseas, they could easily get help in finding work abroad.
Promote co-operation between the State and individuals. If local people are encouraged to work abroad, workers with special skills would flow out of the country, thus creating a brain drain. To solve the problem, consideration must be given to both State and private interests. When workers go abroad at their own expense, the enterprises they work for should give them favourable treatment when they return. While working overseas, the workers should help their enterprises open up to the world market.

Shanghai residents have strong aspirations to expand their living space and they are good at trading. But first priority should be given to entrepreneurs who are brave enough to journey out into the world and build success.
Before the founding of new China, a number of world-renowned figures such as shipping magnate Pao Yue Kang and the computer king Wang An were raised in Shanghai. It is expected that a group of new magnates will emerge when Shanghai entrepreneurs enter the world economy.

Now that Shanghai is capable of building 100, 000-ton-class vessels and manufacturing sophisticated precision building machines, powerful generators, colour televisions and bicycles, there is no reason why the city could not create a group of world-class shipping kings, building machine kings and bicycle kings.
With a solid industrial foundation and technical force, Shanghai could also set up factories and shops overseas to compete with foreign counterparts. Shanghai-made brands, very popular at home now, will surely capture a slice of the world market if sales promotion is emphasized.

Shanghai produces quality cloth shoes of good workmanship. But its exports are $ 1. 1 billion annually, only half of Taiwan's total, due to the neglect of sales promotion overseas.
Shanghai boasts numerous specialists in the fields of science, technology,culture and education. These experts could earn a good deal of foreign exchange for the State if technical services were offered to countries that badly need skilled workers in high-tech industries.
The city can also directly export technology and software and contract scientific research projects abroad, as it possesses advantages in the fields of laser, optical fibre, microelectronics and biological engineering technology.