The foreign advisers of Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua will deliberate on the province's sustainable development at a conference in Guangzhou later this week.

Thirteen of the governor's 25 advisers will meet at the White Swan Hotel on Thursday and Friday. They began arriving in Guangzhou yesterday.

The advisers include the heads of multinational companies and renowned scholars.

The governor and other senior Guangdong officials will join the advisers and observers for closed-door meetings to address the issue of sustainability. The province is looking to attain more harmonious development after two decades of robust economic growth, which has brought prosperity but also led to strained energy resources and worsening pollution.

Executives of large companies will also attend forums on the sidelines of the conference. Some of the advisers will deliver speeches at universities in the city.

Unlike previous sessions, participants this year will be allowed to speak without a time limit because the number of attendees is lower than before. Speakers were only given several minutes due to tight schedules in previous sessions, which led to complaints that the advisers were not able to explain their views in depth.

Since 1999, the provincial government has been appointing foreign consultants to advise top Guangdong decision makers. The conference has been held every two years since 2001.

The province had benefited from their experience, officials said. This conference will provide opportunities for the governor to communicate with foreign consultants to better understand the problems hindering Guangdong's social and economic growth.

Editor: Donald