LinkedIn helps Shenzhen link up with talent

The world's largest professional networking website, LinkedIn, opened its innovation center in Shenzhen on Dec 19. This is part of the city's bid in attracting more global talent to further develop their digital economy.

As LinkedIn's second innovation center in China, it will be expected to provide support and opportunities to local government and startups to help them compete within the digital age.

The US-based firm reports that Shenzhen ranked third in terms of digital talent in China, after Beijing and Shanghai. Though, in terms of inflow of digital professionals within the last three years, Shenzhen ranked second only to Shanghai within China.

Over the years Shenzhen has become a more appealing destination for international talent, with LinkedIn saying it's the most attractive option for returning overseas Chinese. However, there is a dearth of talent within the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, with only 10 percent of China's AI talents working in the southern tech hub, far less than the 70 percent of Beijing and Shanghai.