The First Silk Road International Innovation Design Week taking place from Sept 21 to 29 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, aims to bring rich and colorful products to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the organizers of the event.

Representing the top level of both domestic and global design, the innovation design week is part of the 2017 Euro-Asia Economic Forum. The event covers such topics as industrial and architectural designs, 3-D printing, aerospace, big data and intellectual property rights.

Lu Guangwen, head of Beilin district in Xi'an, said the design week not only shows the city's strengths in industrial design, but also serves as a platform for cultural exchange and communications among government agencies, designers, businessmen, experts and scholars from the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Lu said that Xi'an is right at the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, with a history of 5,000 years. It is home to a large number of high-level design colleges and research institutes, such as Xi'an Jiaotong University and Northwestern Polytechnical University.

"The scale and level of the industrial design sector in Xi'an has many advantages, especially for industrial manufacturing," Lu said.

Lu Changde, vice-chairman of the Silk Road Innovation and Design Industry Association and president of the Xi'an Design Union, said the innovation design industry should be one of the Belt and Road Initiative's priorities.

"We are willing to work together with all the people engaged in the business to create green designs for Xi'an and China, and to promote global sustainable development amid the relaunch of the Silk Road Economic Belt." Xi'an has abundant design resources and rich results, and it should take the opportunity provided by the design week to gather resources, develop manufacturing services and promote its brands to be world-famous, Lu Changde added.

Organized by the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Xi'an government, the design week has the theme, "Xi'an Creating with the World".

It has a total of nine sub-forums, including the 2017 International Conference of China Industrial Design Education & International Industrial Design Forum, the Military Civilian Integration & Future of Aviation Forum, and the Silk Road Future High-end Forum.

The event strives to achieve the goal of joint development and results sharing, as well as to promote regional economic and cultural exchange, according to the organizers.

Xu Zhilei, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that innovation is the forerunner and preparation of transforming information, technology and creativity into products, equipment and operation service.

"Innovation is the process of humans' purposeful planning and practicing. Design determines the quality and the value of manufacturing and services, and it can also improve people's lives."

Liu Chunlin, head of the information department of Xi'an, said that many current policies are ensuring harmony between human beings and nature, such as the city's "beautiful Xi'an" strategy and the nation's Belt and Road Initiative.

"To balance between nature and development, Beilin district will strive to be a core area in Xi'an with its own characteristics. We respect nature and the historical resources here," Liu said.

"We aim to fuse the most advanced and cutting-edge design concepts with Xi'an's industrial development genes."

(China Daily 09/25/2017 page5)