On February 17, Shanghai's promotion conference for the construction of a world-class “city of design" was held at the Friendship Hall. Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor Gong Zheng opened a new chapter in the construction of a world-class "design capital", Vice Mayor Zhang Wei delivered a working speech, and Secretary General of the Municipal Government Ma Chunlei and Deputy Secretary General Chen Mingbo attended.
Since joining the United Nations Creative Cities Network in 2010, Shanghai has achieved remarkable results as a “City of design ”. Design and urban development go hand in hand, blending with the city's characteristics and connecting with global innovation networks. The creative and design industries are booming, with a total output of over RMB 1.2 trillion in 2021, representing a growth rate of nearly 20%, and the gathering of outstanding design enterprises and design talents is accelerating, with innovative design achievements emerging and increasing international and domestic influence. Entering a new stage of development, Shanghai is guided by Xi Jinping's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, thoroughly implementing the spirit of the 19th Party Congress, the 19th Plenary Session and the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping during his visit to Shanghai, practicing the important concept of "people's city built by the people and people's city for the people", starting from the strategic consideration of Shanghai by the central government and the needs of economic and social development. From the strategic consideration of the Central Government for Shanghai, from the demand of economic and social development, based on Shanghai's characteristics and benchmarking with the world's top-ranking, we have prepared "Several Opinions on Building a World-Class "City of design" in Shanghai", and officially launched the construction of a world-class “City of design”.
Wu Jincheng, Director of the Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, explains the "Opinions on Building a World-Class “City of design" in Shanghai", explaining the objectives of the world-class construction, the five-dimensional structure of the "Design Innovation City", the "four chains and eight elements The "Several Opinions" explain the objectives of world-class construction, the five-dimensional framework of "Design Innovation City", the "four chains and eight elements" ecological system and the three safeguards. The Opinions raised the flag and, in accordance with the deployment of the municipal government, a series of work layouts were launched in an orderly manner, which received an enthusiastic response from the industry.
Chen Jie, President of Tongji University and academician; Yu Jianyong, President of Donghua University and academician; Wang Hua, Mayor of Jing'an District; Chen Hong, Chairman of SAIC Group; Gu Weihua, Chairman of Huajian Group; Jiang Qiong'er, Founder of Up & Down Brand; and Ding Wei, Founder of Trojan Design, presented initiatives on behalf of their respective fields, calling on colleagues from all walks of life to participate in the construction of a world-class “City of design” from the perspectives of regional promotion, industrial design, architectural design, fashion design, design education, design innovation and cultural heritage.
The conference released a promotional video for the first World Design Capital 2022, and launched the organization of the "International Design 100" and the operation of the "Frontier Design Innovation Award". Zheng Hong, Director of the International Centre for Economic and Technical Cooperation of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, conferred medals on five newly-awarded "National Industrial Design Centres", including SAIC, UNI Medical, Wicresoft Medical, Pentium Electric and Tezan Information.
UNESCO sent a congratulatory video and Assistant Director-General Ernesto Ramirez praised Shanghai's work achievements and looked forward to further deepening cooperation to help Shanghai build a world class design capital.