The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs' training center signed an agreement on Thursday with the US-based trade associations American Marketing Association and Business Marketing Institute to support international-sales and marketing employees in China.

The agreement is meant to develop the country's system of international-marketing knowledge and a mechanism used to recognize certificate qualification.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the signing of the agreement, Bai Jixun, director of the training center, said more Chinese businesses are looking to expand globally and are seeking to hire sales and marketing employees.

"Many Chinese sales and marketing employees have not received training and are guided in their work by their experiences and judgment about business prospects," he said. "They have less ability to do marketing work internationally than similar employees in many developed nations."

Bai said it will take about three years to have a knowledge system and a mechanism to recognize certificate qualification. He said the system will apply to all types of businesses in China.