City ranks sixth worldwide for culture, economy, innovation and environment

Beijing's outstanding innovative dynamics and growing investment in scientific research have shaped the capital to be one of the world's most attractive spots for global talent, according to a report released on Friday.

To increase the city's appeal for talent, experts suggested addressing its high housing and rental prices, promoting integration of industry, academy and research, as well as developing local large-scale scientific facilities.

A report that evaluates and ranks 102 cities' abilities to attract and retain talent, known as the Global City Talent Retention Index, was released during the Beijing International Youth Innovation and Development Forum on Friday.

The report, the third edition of its kind, was jointly released by Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, Beijing Institute of Talent Development Strategy and Beijing Foreign Enterprise Human Resources Service Co.

It covers 39 Chinese cities, as well as 63 foreign cities, including in the United States, Europe, Japan, Singapore and major cities in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Through measuring these cities' performance in economics, innovation, culture, environment, social welfare and life burden, the report lists San Francisco, New York, London, Washington, DC, and Dubai as the top five destinations for talent.

Beijing, which placed sixth, is the only Chinese city to make the top 10. The top 50 cities include 26 in Europe or the US and 11 in China, according to the report.

Zhang Tianyang, executive dean of Beijing Institute of Talent Development Strategy, said during the forum that while a robust economy boosts US cities at the forefront of the ranking, and comprehensive social welfare nets are a distinctive feature of European countries topping the list, Beijing and many other Chinese cities excel in their innovation dynamics.

"Beijing is now home to 17 unicorn companies (startups worth more than $1 billion) and the number is among the highest worldwide," he said. "In recent years, the proportion of research and development expenditures of the city has exceeded six percent of its total GDP, offering consistent and sufficient funds for young scientific talent."

However, he noted that life burdens, especially the city's high rental and home prices, remain a major impediment to further enhancing the city's talent retention level.

"In fact, a large number of cities have plenty of room for improvement in terms of public life metrics," he said.

Gleaning insights from the development of San Francisco, London and other cities demonstrating the greatest innovation potential, the report said that "actively building a platform for the integration of industry, academia and research, promoting communication and exchange between innovation subjects, as well as improving supportive policies" are among effective approaches to ramp up talent retention levels.

Liu Qiao, dean of Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, said during the event that future research into the city's attraction for talent could use questionnaires to understand subjective perceptions of individuals.