But his proposals to import more mainland high-tech talent and coordinate with Guangdong province on combating cross-border pollution and developing the Pearl River delta are important first steps.
Among consumer web startups and high-tech firms, the talent wars have taken on a new ferocity, yet unemployment remains stuck around 9% and shows few signs of improving.
Higher-skilled immigrants provide talent that high-tech companies often cannot locate domestically.
FORBES: The Pent Up Entrepreneurship That Immigration Reform Would Unleash
"There was not much competition when we started, but that's changed now, " said Ms. Robinson, adding that the company now has to compete against high-tech companies like Google Inc. talent.
He said unemployment in the U.S. tech industry has been at 4 percent or below, even during the worst days of the global recession, and so high tech companies need to bring in foreign talent.
As a result, much of Asia's plentiful high-tech money is sitting idle for lack of talent.
"The high-tech industry is in a constant war for talent, " Carly Fiorina, president of Hewlett-Packard, said in a California appearance with Clinton.
CNN: Administration's next challenge: Making 'digital divide' initiative stick
He pumps billions into university research in places like Ireland and Australia because he believes it creates a skilled workforce and attracts top talent, setting the table for high-tech industry and foreign direct investment.
FORBES: Chuck Feeney: The Billionaire Who Is Trying To Go Broke
Craig Barrett, CEO of high-tech giant Intel, which sponsored the 2000 competition, marveled at the talent.
CNN: Romanian teenager wins 'junior Nobel Prize' competition
The trend of high-tech outsourcing has shown U.S. educators three things: First, talent exists around the world.
"Lack of talent in the United States and the abundance of talent in countries such as India" is the reason for high demand for foreign tech worker visas, said Ameet Nisarkar, senior vice president of NASSCOM.
Talent wars on the startup-centric coasts have left tech-savvy employees in high-demand, yet the unemployment rate remains dismally high, even in those areas.
FORBES: Five Signs You're A 'Cultural Fit' For That Hot New Startup
Top talent is the most important source of competitive advantage for every corporation, especially in high tech industries that compete on creativity and innovation.
FORBES: The Career-Development Gap: Why Employers Fail To Retain Top Talent
应用推荐