Thanks to deepening cooperation between China and Singapore over the years, the southwestern Chinese metropolis of Chongqing has attracted more talent.

Peng Chuanxiao, a graduate of Sichuan International Studies University, now works at the National University of Singapore (Chongqing) Research Institute.

In college, he used to follow a curriculum that equipped him with the knowledge needed to work for international organizations. He then continued to study public policy at King's College London in the United Kingdom.

After graduation, Peng agonized over whether to work in a bigger city or return to his hometown of Chongqing until the research institute offered him the opportunity to engage in educational cooperation between China and Singapore under the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity.

Launched in 2015, the initiative is the third of its kind between the two countries.

It follows the Suzhou Industrial Park established in China's eastern province of Jiangsu in 1994, and the Tianjin Eco-city inaugurated in 2008 in North China.

"I never imagined that I could start a career closely related to my major in the city. I thought such a job opportunity would only be possible in a major city like Beijing," Peng said.

The institute was established in April last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the global issue as the backdrop, Peng describes his job as "watering the seeds and waiting for fruits to grow".

The young man is mainly in charge of helping local startups learn cutting-edge technologies from Singapore.

Like Peng Chuanxiao, Peng Ziyun has also taken advantage of the deepening collaboration between the two countries.

She joined the New Land-Sea Corridor Operation, which operates commercial projects in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a major land-sea freight route connecting Chongqing with overseas destinations.

The corridor is a trade and logistics channel jointly built by Singapore and provincial-level regions in western China under the joint strategic connectivity initiative.

In the first 10 months of this year, the corridor saw 92,831 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo containers, worth more than 14.72 billion yuan ($2.31 billion), transported via Chongqing.

"I'm an English major, with a minor in international trade and economics. By choosing this job, I not only make good use of my language skills but also participate in trade between Chongqing and the rest of the world," Peng Ziyun said.

More opportunities are ahead.

In the next five years, Chongqing plans to build a talent service center, aiming to attract 1,000 professionals from the modern service industry, 100 innovative enterprises and 10 high-end talent and research teams.

"I feel that Chongqing is ramping up its efforts to be closer to the outside world. It is building itself into a leading international consumption center, and its tertiary industry is promising, with the added value of the first three quarters of 2021 exceeding 1 trillion yuan," said Peng Chuanxiao. "I have faith in Chongqing's future."