While people are busy Christmas shopping, a recruitment team froma Chinese city came to Houston to shop for talent.

"We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and soon we were contacted by people. More than 10 people came to talk to us on our first dayuntil late at night," said Xian Ming, secretary-general of the Qingdao Association of International Exchange of Personnel,and one of four team members.

Xian and his team were in Houston until Thursday, seeking people with expertise and innovative projects who might help the economic development of the coastal city of Qingdao. With a population of around 3.5 million, the city is a major industrial center and seaport in Shandong province. Qingdao, which means The Blue/Green Island, was named China's most livable city in 2012.

Zhang Lei, president of Houston Shandong Fellowship Association and one of the local facilitators for the recruitment effort, said more than 50 people registered to talk to the recruitment team.

"Our company specializes in subsea equipment design, fabrication technology and testing, and I think we can help China to develop in this area because China has little existing technology and experiences in subsea field," said Peter Huang, president of Subsea Engineering, Inc. Huang said that he intends to set up a company or joint venture in Qingdao to provide subsea technology service.

"Subsea technologies have been developed from the offshore drilling in Gulf of Mexico since 1940s, and Houston has the concentration of such talents. There is a lot of oil potential to be tapped in South China Sea, and we are capable of providing equipment design and fabrication for that purpose. China needs oil and we can help China get it."

Mike Chen, executive director of Rooney FolControl, brought with him information onan anticorrosive coating, a patented nanotechnology produced by his company, which he said could be used in various industries. Chen said his company owns seven patented products,and he believes Qingdao could benefit from some of its developed technologies.

Xian said he was pleased with the quality of the turnout.

"A lot of responses are from people who are already very successful in their respective fields, and we have people from industries such as petroleum, chemical, medical, marine logistics, IT, and trade coming to see us," he said.

Cao Derong, Chinese consul and director for commerce in Houston, also attended the recruitment session. He said the consulate general fully supports the exchange of talent between the US and China.

"China's economy is going upward and offers good opportunities. No matter what they are pursuing -being part of China's growth or seeking better opportunities for self-realization - we encourage people to go to China and provide whatever help we can."

[email protected]