(Photo: AP)

ZURICH, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The second China-Europe Talent Forum was jointly hosted here on Wednesday to explore a new model for companies to "bring, buy or build" talents as they are expanding internationally.

Co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Switzerland and the Swiss Adecco Group, the forum brought together more than 180 participants from companies, academic institutions, international organizations and government agencies.

Geng Wenbing, Chinese ambassador to Switzerland, said at the forum that China and Europe together hold a "treasure bowl" of the world's best talents, but each side has their own strengths in the talent field.

According to Geng, China has a large number of skilled talents, while Europe boasts innovative and entrepreneurial talents. The complementary advantages herewith are obvious, and the potential for exchanges and cooperation is huge.

Geng said that China is happy to see local talents go international, and is willing to recruit talents from all over the world to participate in China's construction and development. The forum, he said, is to open up exchange channels between Chinese and European companies, schools and government departments.

"Through the cooperation of talents, we can enhance the innovation capability and mutual learning between China and Switzerland, as well as China and Europe, so that all sides can benefit together," the ambassador said.

Rolf Dorig, chair of the Board of Directors of the Adecco Group, said that the very essence of how people earn their living today is changing very rapidly, as technology is generating completely new business models. Automation, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and big data are having a profound effect on how people work and the skills they need. These mega trends are impacting the world of work every day and are fundamentally altering the business landscape from year to year.

That is why companies need to take the lead in shaping the future of work and become agile in spotting and capitalizing the emerging trends in order to win when facing challenges, Dorig said.

The Adecco Group also released a white paper entitled "Optimizing Your Talent Mix: Bring, Buy or Build," which says that Chinese firms, which used to prefer bringing skilled labor from home when expanding overseas, are now increasingly turning to local labor markets or buying short-term experts on the ground.

It then suggests an updated "Bring, Buy or Build" model as a way to get the talent mix right, with the emphasis on the under-leveraged ability to skill or re-skill local talent.