The open world is the stage of Hebei, and the developing Hebei is a global opportunity. On November 26th, Helsinki, Finland, the Hebei Design Delegation led by Industry and Information Technology Department of Hebei Province opened the design tour in Finnish, known as the “Global Design Model”, and conducted research and innovative exchange activities on Finnish design institutions and enterprises, aiming to further expand the innovative exchanges and strategic cooperation between Hebei and Finland after injecting Nordic design elements into Hebei in the the first Hebei International Industrial Design Week in mid-October, introducing Finnish advanced design forces to promote the local design in line with the international, combining the Finnish design concept with both aesthetic and functional features with the strong manufacturing industry in Hebei, creating a new model and new format of industrial transformation and development under the design innovation.

Design innovation and development symposium

Hebei joins hands with Finland to open a new chapter of cooperation

In the afternoon, the “Finland-Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Development Symposium” was held in the Helsinki City Hall. Nearly 50 people attended the meeting including Xu Qin, Governor of the People's Government of Hebei Province, Zhu Haowen, Secretary General of the People's Government of Hebei Province, Chen Yongjiu, Party Secretary of the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Gong Xiaofeng, Director of Hebei Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Li Pu, Deputy Secretary General of the People's Government of Hebei Province, Cheng Lei, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Hebei Province, Pia Pakalien, Deputy Mayor of the Helsinki Municipal Government, Zheng Qiongfang, Director of China Affairs of International Affairs Department of Helsinki Economic Development Bureau, Henry Kaon, Consultant of the Helsinki Economic Development Agency, Petrie Collin, CEO of the Finnish Design Forum, Helena Lenstein, representative of Helsinki Design Week, Sarah Hainaen, Executive Director of the Finnish Design Association, Shirley Feng, director of Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center, Juka Savolion, director of the Finnish Design Museum, and other government officials, industry organizations, and representatives of famous local design agencies. The government representatives and design agencies of the two places respectively introduced the business environment in Finland, the development of industrial design in Hebei Province, the development of Finnish design and industry, the construction of Hebei industrial design and development carrier and design results, focusing on the sparks of design innovation cooperation between China's industrial provinces and Nordic design powers, and probing into the opportunities and prospects for cooperation between Finnish design and Hebei Province.

Governor Xu Qin has a long history with Finland. During his tenure in Shenzhen in 2013, Xu Qin led the Shenzhen delegation to visit Finland in the capacity of Shenzhen Mayor to attend the Shenzhen-Helsinki Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange and signed four cooperation projects in the field of creative designs on site, and jointly established the Sino-Finnish Design Park in Shenzhen. After five years, Xu Qin went to Finland again as the governor of Hebei Province, vigorously supported and promoted the cooperation between Hebei and Finland in designing innovative industries, and expanded the new creative culture exchange and cooperation field of Sino-Finnish.

Symposium Scene

In a speech at the meeting, Deputy Mayor Pia Pakalien said that Helsinki, as a design capital awarded by UNESCO, actively integrates design ideas into the development of urban public services and improves the public service and residents' quality of life through design. The first Hebei International Industrial Design Week was held in Xiong'an New Area not long ago and Finland was the guest country. Many Helsinki design institutes participated in the event and showed congratulations for the cooperation bwtween the Finnish Design Museum and Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center to build Hebei Sino-Finnish design museum. It is believed that the Finnish design tour of the Hebei Design Delegation is an important milestone in promoting deep cooperation between the two parties.

At the symposium held this time, Under the witness of Xu Qin, Governor of Hebei Provincial People's Government, Zhu Haowen, Secretary General of Hebei Provincial People's Government, Chen Yongchang, Party Secretary of Hebei Development and Reform Commission, Gong Xiaofeng, Director of Hebei Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Pia Pakalien, vice president of the Helsinki municipal government, Sanna Bilonin, the director of the Finnish National Business Promotion Bureau, Wangxin, the senior business consultant of the Finnish Capital Economic Development Bureau, and other cities, Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center signed the “Finnish-Hebei Industrial Design Cooperation Memorandum” with Helsinki Design Week to further strengthen the design promotion and cooperation between the two places. The two sides will jointly build the Hebei Sino-Finnish Design Park to introduce Finnish design resources for Hebei industrial design and development; Based on their advantages in design and industrial development, the two sides will cooperate with each other in many aspects like complementing design and manufacturing resources, importing and exporting products to promote the industrial transformation and upgrading of Finland and Hebei. Regular professional exchanges and collaborative research of design projects will be carried out through various forms to promote seamless connection of design resources of both sides.

In addition, Governor Xu Qin also took Hebei design delegation to the Huawei Helsinki Institute and the Finnish Design Museum to conduct a survey to learn about Huawei's local scientific research achievements and the development of the Finnish design museum. The Finnish Design Museum signed a cooperation agreement with Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center on this year's Design Week to build the Hebei Zhongfen Design Museum and settled in Xiong'an International Design Eco-city. This trip to the Finnish Design Museum has laid a solid foundation for the construction of the Sino-Finnish Design Museum. Based on the development advantages of the Finnish design industry, we can promote industrial upgrading, industrial design and creative design capabilities in Hebei Province, and jointly create an international high-end design and innovation gathering center integrating product re-design and quality management.

Governor Xu Qin said that industrial design is both a design and an innovation. It is a perfect combination of culture, art, function and human needs. It not only promotes its own development and innovation, but also promotes all manufacturing and industrial innovation. A strong design industry needs a strong manufacturing industry, while a strong manufacturing industry also needs a strong design industry. Hebei has a strong industrial manufacturing base, and has great potential for integration with industrial design. It brings benefits to enterprises while creating more value for civilized wealth of society. President Xi Jinping visited Finland last year. The two countries formally confirmed the establishment of a new type of future-oriented partnership, which has pointed out the direction for us to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Finland. Today, the Helsinki City Hall witnessed the design combination of Hebei and Finland. It is very meaningful. With high-level design cooperation, it is hoped that the design circles of both sides will take this opportunity to open a new chapter in Finnish design and cooperation between Hebei Province's design industry and manufacturing industry, create new supply with industrial design, and promote industrial transformation and upgrading.

Investigating innovative and creative enterprises

 Building bridges for industrial cooperation between the two places 

In April 2017, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Finland. During his visit to the Finnish Design Museum, his wife Peng Liyuan pointed out that design exchanges and cooperation are an important part of Sino-Finnish cultural exchanges and cooperation, and have great potential for development. New opportunities for cooperation can be explored. Integrating design into life,  upgrading the industry with design, from Nokia to "angry birds", we can see the Finnish industry is quietly transforming， with creativity and design as key advantages. In the past two years, under the overlapping opportunities of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development, planning and construction of Xiong'an New Area, the organization of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, Hebei has also vigorously developed industrial design as an important breakthrough for the province's industrial transformation and upgrading. The esteem of innovative design has made Hebei and Finland closed linked.

During the design week this year, Su Haiyan, the Finnish Ambassador to China, led a group of nearly 20 Finnish delegations from the top Finnish design companies and designers to design and share in Hebei, communicate with manufacturing companies, and open up the cooperation door between the two enterprises. On the Finnish design tour, Gong Xiaofeng, director of the Hebei Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, Shi Qiwei, director of the Industrial Policy Division of the Hebei Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, and other members of the Hebei Design Delegation visited the Finnish innovative enterprises about design, incubator, machinery industry and other fields, building a bridge of industrial cooperation.

At that day, Hebei Design Delegation went to KONE Elevator Co., Ltd., one of the largest suppliers of elevators and escalators in the world, Maria01, the largest technology incubator in Finland, ROVIO, design developer of Angry Bird, and other design companies to learn more about their development concepts, research techniques , product design, innovation results, etc.. Hebei design delegation introduced the development of industry and industrial design, exchanged design and manufacturing development direction with the inspection enterprises, and further explored the design cooperation field between Hebei and Finland.