From January to August, contracts in service outsourcing business reached $7.5 billion, completing a total value of $6.3 billion, a year-on-year growth of 29 percent, according to Wuxi Mayor Wang Quan at an interview on Sept 13.

Wang Quan, mayor of Wuxi city, gives an interview before the award ceremony of the fifth China Students Service Outsourcing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Sept 13. [Photo by Pan Qi/China Daily]

To attract excellent entrepreneurship projects to the host city, an innovative and venture base was established on Aug 5, offering supporting funds and consultancy service in aspects such as investment and financing policies as well as tax business for students who want to set up outsourcing companies in Wuxi.

Six teams, hailing from schools such as Communication University of China, Shandong University and Ningbo University, won the first prize in self-employment practice groups in the competition. They were given the chance to set up their companies in the base with a 300,000 yuan ($49,000) venture fund.

With a 5 million yuan venture fund from the local government and 30 million yuan social fund from enterprises, the base also extends 300,000 yuan in financial help to other excellent projects in the competition passing the review of experts in the base.

Highlighting the development of the outsourcing industry, the people’s government of Wuxi sought to host the national outsourcing competition in 2009.

Co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China as well as the government of Wuxi city, the competition has been held in Jiangnan University since 2010.

The event is dedicated to providing a platform for students to showcase their creativity, arouse students’ interest in utilizing modern technology in the service industry, and to encourage universities to foster more talented people for the service outsourcing industry.

Zhang Daliang, head of the higher education department under the Ministry of Education, addresses the award ceremony of the fifth China Students Service Outsourcing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Sept 13. [Photo by Pan Qi/China Daily]