The report of the 19th CPC National Congress proposed that the structural reform of supply side should be taken as the main line to promote changes in quality, efficiency and driving force of economic development and improve total factor productivity; additionally, it believed that China should accelerate the building of a powerful manufacturing country and put the development of advanced manufacturing forward as well as support the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries. In order to fully implement the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and the Fifth and Sixth Plenary Sessions of the Provincial Party Committee, the efforts included promoting the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industry and deepening the structural reform of supply side in industry as it seeks to further enhance the level of industrial design and promote the industry towards the mid-to-high end as well as broaden innovative demand and market in design. According to the spirit of the Notice of Issuing About Some Policies and Measures in Encouraging the Development of Industrial Design Made by the People’s Government of Hebei Province, China (Hebei Government Number [2017] 36), following policies and measures were made in line with Xingtai’s realities.

Improve Innovation and Advancement Ability of Industrial Design

1.Support the construction of industrial design centers. As a reward, Xingtai’s government will give 30 thousand yuan, 20 thousand yuan and 10 thousand yuan respectively to the national industrial design center, provincial industrial design center and municipal industrial design center that are assessed by related department.

2. It is welcome for famous designers and design agencies at home and abroad to set up industrial design agencies in Xingtai. As a reward, 20 thousand yuan and 10 thousand yuan will be respectively given to the introduced groups that belong to a branch of famous design agencies (enterprises) and studios of famous designers and have been established for over two years (including two years) as well as serve for over ten enterprises after assessment of third party. Free office rooms will be provided for introduced branches of industrial design agencies (studios) by each county (city or district) government for no less than three years. 

3. Support enterprises in purchasing industrial design service. Government should encourage manufacturing enterprises to cooperate with industrial design agencies to outsource its eligible design business and build a long and stable partnership as it seeks to make products upgrade and brand building more fast. When the enterprise purchases industrial design service, it can receive subsidies from provincial government and 50 percent of complementary subsidies from municipal government that are in line with the provincial subsidies. 

4. Support the transformation, application and promotion of industrial design innovation results based on new products, new technologies, new processes and new materials. As a reward, besides provincial subsidies, 50 percent of complementary subsidies from municipal government that are in line with the provincial subsidies will be given to the projects that are recognized as having significant effect in the transformation of industrial design innovation results.

Improve Comprehensive Service Level of Industrial Design

5. Encourage scientific research institutions, universities, industry organizations and competitive enterprises to carry out basic, versatile and prospective industrial design research. China’s well-known industrial design agencies are commissioned  to carry out overall researches in industrial design that include advanced equipment manufacturing, new energy, textile and clothing, food and medicine, and new type of building materials. As for research and analysis projects that are commissioned by the municipal government to domestic famous industrial design agencies with the form of purchasing service, no more than 1 million yuan is granted to a single project. 

6. Support the construction of public service platform for industrial design. 50 percent of investment is given to the construction projects of public service platforms that are open, public and professional, which include efficient and practical bases of industrial design basic data, professional knowledge, information consulting and results display, and at most 200 thousand yuan is supported.

7. Government should encourage all counties (cities or districts) to strongly promote the development of industrial design on the basis of the clustering of characteristic industries and put the development of business mode and new business like “Design+Brand”, “Design+Science and Technology”, “Design+Culture” forward and build an industrial chain of “Design+”. Government should make an effort to improve regional characteristic industries which include cashmere of Qinghe, Xingtai, art glass of Shahe, Xingtai, domestic ceramics of Longyao, Xingtai and bicycle of Pingxiang, Xingtai and embed industrial design in each segment of industrial chain. Additionally, the related authority ought to strengthen the study and promotion of design’s standard, specification and method and provide preferential support in purchasing service of industrial design and transformation of industrial design achievements as it seeks to build a batch of regional brands as soon as possible that have a significant effect on regional development. After examination and determination, 150 thousand yuan is seen in specific research projects of industrial design that are commissioned to domestic famous industrial design agencies by each counties (cities or districts) with the purpose to focus on the development of characteristic industries.

Expand Communication and Cooperation about Industrial Design at Home and Abroad

8. Support Xingtai’s competitive enterprises and excellent talents in participating in national and provincial industrial design training, forums, exhibitions, competitions and other activities. 100 thousand yuan is awarded to the owners of gold award of iF Design Award, Red Dot Award, Best of the Best and gold award of China Excellent Industrial Design. Moreover, 50 thousand yuan is awarded to the owners of gold award of Hebei Industrial Design (including competition) iF and other awards of Red Dot, IDEA Award and GMARK Award.

9. Support Xingtai’s enterprises in actively participating in selection activities of industrial design organized by the municipal government (including competition). Money from 20 thousand yuan to 60 thousand yuan will be seen in the enterprises that receive awards in product category and money from 10 thousand yuan to 20 thousand yuan will be witnessed in the enterprises that receive awards in concept category. Additionally, above enterprises are given priority to the selection activities organized by governments such as national and provincial industrial design awards.

Strengthen Supply-Side Support and Safeguard of Industrial Design

10. Strengthen the training of industrial design personnel. Government should encourage Hebei Mechatronics College, Xingtai Polytechnic Institute and some other universities in Xingtai to jointly operate with foreign well-known design colleges and encourage outstanding industrial design talents at home and abroad to engage in Xingtai’s industrial design research and teaching work. Additionally, government should support universities and enterprises in jointly building training bases of industrial design and order-oriented talent training bases as well as conduct on-the-job training for industrial design practitioners. Besides, related department should incorporate industrial design talents into the training and selection of high-level personnel and attempt to establish evaluation, training, incentive and flow mechanisms of industrial design talents as well as provide some supports with relevant policies.

11. Xingtai Industrial Design Development Leading Group is set up, which is headed by related deputy mayor of Xingtai and takes related deputy secretary and director of Industry and Information Technology Department of Xingtai as its vice leaders. Also, its members include responsible heads of the relevant department of the city so as to overall coordinate the development of industrial design. The office of the leading group is located in Industry and Information Technology Department of Xingtai, which is responsible for daily work of the leading group.

12. Special fund for 10 million yuan and industrial guidance fund for 20 million yuan in industrial design are allocated by Xingtai Municipal Finance Bureau to support the development of industrial design and organize various industrial design activities as well as implement relevant supporting policies.

13. Implement tax incentives. As for the industrial design enterprise that is recognized as high-tech enterprise, government will levy business income tax at the rate of 15 percent. In industrial design enterprise, it is allowed to deduct the expenditure on education that is less than 8 percent of total salary from taxable income. It is exempt from added-value tax when profits are made due to industrial design enterprise offers technology transfer, design and development and related technical consultation as well as technical service. Eligible costs of industrial design made by related enterprise are executed according to pre-tax weighted deduction.

14. Reinforce the protection of intellectual property. In order to protect innovative achievements of industrial design and designers’ rights and interests, it is encouraged for enterprise and individual to apply for a patent and register a trademark as well as register copyright. Meanwhile, it is recommended to mark the name of design agencies and designers in product or package. Illegal actions that infringe intellectual property such as tort, imitation and piracy must be strictly stricken and be placed on a blacklist of social credit.

15. Increase propaganda. Make full use of the province's major news media and domestic new media to actively promote crucial decisions in industrial design arrangement, supporting policies and typical cases made by provincial party committee and provincial government and tell Xingtai’s stories about design well as well as create a good atmosphere for the whole society to understand, value and participate in industrial design.

16. Every county (city or district) can establish related special development fund and industrial guidance fund in industrial design in line with local realities.