BEIJING - China has started selecting suitable PhDs to support the country's underdeveloped western regions, talent work authorities announced Monday.

This year's "Doctors Service Group", the 14th batch since 1999, was initiated by the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Communist Youth League as a major campaign to provide talent support for the development of western areas.

According to a statement from the talent work coordination office under the CPC Central Committee, this year's selection will focus on key fields and industries for western regions' economic and social growth, such as bio-technology, environmental protection, energy resources, agricultural technology, health and tourism, among others.

With plans to select more candidates from eastern regions that boast a large number of talents working in diverse fields, the office revealed that it is also mulling a pairing mechanism to enable a particular provincial-level region in the east to offer long-term talent support to one in the west.

Figures from the office show that 1,641 PhDs participated in the previous 13 rounds of campaigns.

However, the office said in the statement that the current results are "far from sufficient", and efforts will be strengthened to encourage more talents to work at the grassroots level in regions that are lagging behind.