This plan is formulated to earnestly implement the work arrangements of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government regarding accelerating the development of Suzhou’s “1030” manufacturing industry system, further improve the support system for the innovative development of industrial design in our city, fully promote the artistic refinement of products and the integration of manufacturing processes, cultivate leading enterprises and talent in industrial design, foster high-quality development of industrial design in our city, and better leverage the role of industrial design in empowering new industrialization.
I. Overall Objectives
To promote the further development and expansion of various industrial design entities, significantly enhance design innovation capabilities, achieve comprehensive and close integration of the innovation chain with industrial, service, and value chains, and foster all-round and in-depth integration of industrial design with industry. This will create new growth points for the economy, generate new momentum to lead industrial transformation and upgrading, and build Suzhou into an “International Capital of Industrial Design.”By 2027, we aim to have initially cultivated a group of professional design institutions with high domestic recognition and influence, trained a cohort of outstanding design talents with strong innovation capabilities, and achieved a series of industrial design outcomes representing the advanced domestic level. We will plan and construct a “1+N” industrial design industrial park system, with the Qingtai International Industrial Design Village as the core, and establish N specialized industrial design industrial parks.We will host a cumulative total of 10 specialized industrial design exhibitions, organize 15 international and national-level brand events, conduct 100 specialized industrial design outreach and matchmaking activities within industrial chains, provide design consultation services to over 1,000 manufacturing enterprises, identify and certify 1,000 industrial design innovation talents, and establish 15 national-level industrial design centers within three years, all in an effort to fully build an industrial design brand with Suzhou’s distinctive characteristics.
II. Key Tasks
(1) Support the High-Quality Development of Industrial Design Centers.
1. Cultivate and strengthen industrial design enterprises. Leveraging Suzhou’s advantages in high-quality manufacturing development and seizing new trends in the innovative development of service-oriented manufacturing, we will focus on enhancing the development level of the industrial design industry and fostering design industry clusters with comparative advantages. We will encourage enterprises to spin off their industrial design departments to establish independent industrial design firms, broaden their service scope, and provide industrial design services to other enterprises. We will support specialized research institutes in strengthening their industrial design capabilities in a market-oriented manner to provide professional design services to the broader society.Rewards will be granted to enterprises selected as municipal-level leading enterprises in the service sector. Support will be provided to enterprises applying for designation as national-level pilot enterprises for the integration of manufacturing and services, as well as provincial-level benchmark enterprises for such integration. Eligible national-level industrial design centers are encouraged to apply for special support from central budgetary funds. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Municipal Development and Reform Commission; the following measures must be implemented by the people’s governments (or administrative committees) of each county-level city and district, and will not be listed separately)
2. Enhance Industrial Design Innovation Service Capabilities. Encourage manufacturing enterprises to increase investment in industrial design, and support industrial design firms in providing design services to manufacturing enterprises through order-based arrangements. Implement the “Industrial Design Reaching Small, Medium, and Micro Manufacturing Enterprises” initiative to support industrial design firms in developing design service products tailored to small, medium, and micro manufacturing enterprises. Help these enterprises advance product differentiation and brand personalization, assist them in pursuing an innovation-driven development path characterized by “specialization, refinement, uniqueness, and novelty,” and accelerate their growth and expansion.Newly designated national “Single Champion” demonstration enterprises (products) and national “Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative” “Little Giant” enterprises will receive rewards of up to 3 million yuan and 1 million yuan, respectively. Winning bidders in industrial design service projects subject to international open bidding will receive a reward of up to 300,000 yuan. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
(2) Building High-Level Industrial Design Platforms.
1. Enhance the capabilities of industrial design platforms. Establish an innovation system centered on industrial design centers. Encourage leading manufacturing enterprises to collaborate with design institutions and universities to establish industrial design research institutes tailored to industry characteristics, improving functions such as basic research, technical support, technology transfer, and exchange and cooperation, with the aim of establishing high-level platforms such as National Industrial Design Research Institutes.Award a maximum of 2 million yuan and 500,000 yuan, respectively, to entities newly designated as national-level and provincial-level industrial design centers; award a maximum of 5 million yuan and 1 million yuan, respectively, to entities newly designated as national-level and provincial-level industrial design research institutes. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
2. Promote the clustered development of the industrial design industry. Improve the spatial layout of the industry by encouraging the designation of dedicated industrial design zones within the land-use or building plans of industrial parks, and supporting the transformation of old industrial areas into industrial design industrial parks; create a number of industrial design demonstration parks characterized by concentrated design resources and significant radiating and driving effects.Support cultural and creative parks, buildings, and spaces in further upgrading their office environments and public services, aggregating the creative and design industry chains, and forming a number of creative design clusters. Provide rewards of up to 2 million yuan and 500,000 yuan, respectively, to newly designated national-level and provincial-level industrial design demonstration parks. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
3. Establish a world-class International Industrial Design Village. Plan and construct the Qingtai International Industrial Design Village to high standards, creating functional zones such as master workshops, industrial design exhibition halls, a design convention and exhibition center, a craft and innovation market, a design incubation center, and a design hotel.We will establish a “1+N” industrial design industrial park system, with the Qingtai International Industrial Design Village as the core, and build N specialized industrial design industrial parks. These parks will aggregate high-end innovation resources and design service capabilities, foster an industrial chain ecosystem to cultivate projects and enable practical applications, and create a nationally leading platform for international cooperation and exchange in industrial design. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
(3) Support Industrial Design in Empowering Industrial Development.
1. Lead the way in leveraging industrial design to empower advanced manufacturing.Focusing on advanced manufacturing sectors such as artificial intelligence, high-end equipment, automobiles, and the low-altitude economy, we will leverage the highly integrated nature of industrial design and technological innovation. We will strive to enhance product aesthetics, user experience, engineering usability, and environmental integration, integrating industrial design throughout the entire product lifecycle. This will accelerate the transition of emerging industries and advanced manufacturing from technological leadership to dual leadership in both technology and services, and advance toward service-oriented manufacturing at higher levels of the value chain.(Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
2. Lead the transformation of growth models in traditional industries. Focusing on green home appliances, textiles and apparel, silk,furniture, and arts and crafts. We will focus on key tasks such as expanding product varieties, improving quality, and building brands. By addressing critical aspects including product aesthetics, functional structure, and the application of new materials and technologies, we will strengthen the leading role of industrial design in integrated innovation and the advancement toward high-end fashion. This will drive traditional industries with competitive advantages to improve quality and efficiency, undergo transformation and upgrading, and achieve a shift from extensive growth based on scale and speed to intensive growth driven by design, technology, quality, brands, and services. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
3. Establish a Comprehensive Industrial Design Service Platform. Leveraging a robust manufacturing foundation and abundant innovation resources, we will build a comprehensive industrial design industry chain service platform that integrates resource sharing, collaborative innovation, and open cooperation.By aggregating resources from domestic and international designers and design firms and aligning them with the design needs of manufacturing enterprises, the platform will use digital design innovation service experiences as a starting point. It will provide full-chain public services spanning industrial design basic research, supply-demand matching, technology development, testing and inspection, project incubation, user experience, and commercialization, thereby accelerating the role of industrial design in empowering industrial upgrading and optimizing the economic structure. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
(4) Building Suzhou’s Distinctive Industrial Design Brand.
1. Host high-level industrial design events. Deepen cooperation with industrial design-related associations and organizations, actively host international industrial design exhibitions, award ceremonies, and other events, and strive to secure permanent hosting rights for international industrial design competitions and events in Suzhou. Support industry associations and renowned domestic and international exhibition companies in organizing industrial design exhibitions in Suzhou to continuously enhance the city’s reputation, professionalism, and prestige in industrial design. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Municipal Bureau of Commerce)
2. Promote the integrated development of industrial design and arts and crafts. Fully leverage Suzhou’s unique strengths in arts and crafts. Through the exemplary leadership of National and Provincial Masters of Arts and Crafts, promote the mutual integration and reinforcement of arts and crafts and industrial design.Explore the integration and complementarity of traditional and emerging crafts with modern design to create arts and crafts and their derivatives that feature local characteristics and suit modern lifestyles. This will enhance the regional distinctiveness of modern industrial design and promote the expansion of industrial design from product appearance to product essence design and corporate brand image planning. Works awarded the Gold Prize in the China Excellent Industrial Design Awards will receive a reward of up to 1 million yuan. (Responsible Unit: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)
3. Deepen strategic understanding of brand design. Implement the “Brand Design in Enterprises” initiative to provide customized services covering brand strategy, logo design, visual identity design, brand language design, brand culture design, brand promotion design, and brand image management. Build a city-level brand design portfolio, collaboratively shape the “Suzhou Design” collective brand identity, foster a cluster effect across the entire Suzhou design industry, and highlight Suzhou’s distinctive features and influence in the global design arena.Encourage enterprises in Suzhou to participate in renowned domestic and international design award competitions. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau)
4. Deepen the integration of AI and industrial design. Promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to reconstruct industrial software for research, development, and design, thereby enhancing design and production efficiency and driving transformation in industrial design models. Conduct in-depth research on AI applications in R&D and design scenarios, accelerate the development, promotion, and application of large-scale industrial models, and guide enterprises specializing in vertical-industry large models to provide professional solutions tailored to industrial design scenarios. Annually select and cultivate a batch of large models in vertical fields, and provide up to 500,000 yuan in support to the most outstanding ones based on their technical capabilities and application effectiveness.(Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Municipal Development and Reform Commission)
(5) Establish and Improve the Design Talent Development System.
1. Improve the industrial design education system. Encourage higher education institutions to intensify efforts to recruit and cultivate international faculty in the field of industrial design, build a database of international industrial design experts, and organize international training programs for design professionals across various industries. Encourage universities and research institutes to strengthen the development of departments and disciplines in industrial design, fashion creativity, and related fields, and to offer both degree and non-degree programs at advanced levels.Encourage social organizations, higher education institutions, and manufacturing enterprises to jointly establish collaborative training mechanisms that integrate industry and education as well as science and education. Jointly build internship, practical training, and skills training bases; organize teachers and students to participate in innovative design industry projects; conduct industrial design education and specialized training; and strengthen the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application.Support renowned domestic and international universities, institutions, and enterprises in conducting specialized software education and training in Suzhou. Award grants of up to 1 million yuan and 500,000 yuan, respectively, to entities designated as provincial-level and municipal-level industrial talent training bases. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Municipal Education Bureau)
2. Intensify efforts to attract and cultivate industrial design talent. Increase policy support for the recruitment of high-level, in-demand design talent. Support enterprises and universities/research institutes in recruiting top-tier industrial design talent globally through project collaboration or design planning initiatives. Encourage domestic and international industrial design professionals to seek employment in Suzhou or establish independent brand studios, and provide funding in accordance with existing talent policies. Encourage enterprises to improve internal designer training mechanisms, develop lifelong learning systems for designers, and facilitate smooth career advancement pathways.Accelerate the recruitment of a cohort of talent in the industrial design sector. Support outstanding industrial designers who have recently won internationally renowned industrial design awards—such as the iF Design Award, Red Dot Design Award, G-Mark, and IDEA—in applying for various innovation and entrepreneurship leadership talent programs. For entrepreneurship leadership talent whose projects are approved, provide tiered project funding and housing purchase subsidies in accordance with current policies. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Municipal Party Committee Talent Office, Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau)
III. Support Measures
Strengthen organizational coordination by establishing sound mechanisms for horizontal collaboration among departments and vertical coordination between levels, fostering a framework of resource sharing and collaborative advancement. Localities should enhance organizational leadership over industrial design efforts, improve working mechanisms, and jointly promote the development of industrial design.Strengthen financial support by focusing on key areas and stages of industrial design industry development. Increase investment support for enterprises with strong industrial design capabilities, and facilitate financing connections and industrial exchanges among enterprises in the industrial design sector. Protect intellectual property rights by encouraging enterprises and designers to promptly apply for patents and register copyrights. Strengthen judicial and administrative protection of intellectual property rights, and severely crack down on infringements of trademark rights, patent rights, and copyrights related to creative designs and design brands.Foster a favorable environment by encouraging local governments and departments to actively learn from the advanced experiences of leading regions, intensify efforts to attract industrial design projects, and strengthen the promotion of outstanding design achievements, key enterprises, leading figures, and application scenarios. Support industry organizations such as associations and chambers of commerce in empowering the industrial design sector, and encourage localities to host various design exhibition and exchange activities.
This plan shall take effect on July 1, 2025, and remain valid until December 31, 2027. Where a single entity qualifies for multiple similar support policies in this city, the policy offering the highest benefit shall apply, and benefits shall not be duplicated. The Suzhou Municipal People’s Government is responsible for interpreting this policy, with the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology undertaking the specific interpretation work.
