Suzhou, an economic powerhouse in Jiangsu province, is seeking to swell the ranks of its local talent pool with top global talent through an event scheduled for July dubbed Venture Week for International Elites.

The organizers of the event are now calling for proposals from potential investment projects and startups.

The city's tradition of producing great thinkers throughout the nation's history is a source of local pride.

Among past residents were the designers of some of China's most picturesque classical gardens. With the power of ideas, its intellectual leaders transformed the city into a key component of the nation's breadbasket.

Many of Suzhou's luminaries built successful businesses that became household names across the nation and together the city's people created a place known to many as a "Paradise on Earth".

Carrying forward its evolution from a national center for cultivating intellectualism in ancient times into a global base of talent in the modern world, Suzhou is now seeking to recruit world-class professionals to propel it forward into the future.

Organized since 2009, the venture week is but one facet of this ongoing strategy.

Since it was first held, the event has helped launch a total of 1,760 innovative investment projects in the city, with their combined registered capital totaling 14.2 billion yuan ($2.27 billion).

The event also attracted 65 of those selected to be part of the nation's "1,000 Talent Project", a plan by the central government to attract top talent from overseas. The central government offers each approved professional 1 million yuan in subsidies under the plan.

Similar to the nation's plan to attract top personnel from around the world, the province has initiated a project to recruit such experts and leading professionals to boost local industries.

Past venture weeks have helped the province recruit 111 people for provincial-level projects.

Currently, the city is scouting for more leading professionals in the sectors of new energy, materials, smart grids, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, equipment manufacturing, software, service outsourcing, finance and cultural innovation and waiting for them to join the venture week in July to present their startup projects.

This year the event will reflect the city's business motto "Suzhou: A Paradise for Innovation" and hinge on the themes of "Gathering Wisdom from All Over the World" and "Creating a Paradise for Starting Up Business".

During the past six years, some 10,200 domestic and international experts and business professionals have taken part in the venture week, 72 percent of whom held doctorate degrees. Together, they have initiated some 10, 500 projects.

This year, the organizers expect the week could be even more of an attraction for experts, business leaders and overseas returnees with a broader range of international backgrounds, higher management capacity and top technological prowess.

They hope such high-level talent could attract more companies to do business in the city. The city launched an online service to enable startups to access the services of venture week any time of the day year-round.

Candidates are welcome to register online, match-make with potential investors and negotiate with local businesses.

Last year, Suzhou's GDP hit 1.38 trillion yuan, up 8.3 percent year-on-year.

The city's economic strength ranks seventh in the country, after Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing.