Cutting edge By LI WEITAO (China Daily) Updated: 2006-04-05 09:57
China's 11th Five-Year Programme (2006-10), the official guidelines for
national economic development, has identified "encouraging professional design
business" as a key priority.
The government has also built a national industrial design park in Wuxi, a
city in East China's Jiangsu Province, the first of kind in the country.
"The design business is on the rise in China," says Jack Gao, vice-president
of US firm AutoDesk, which makes software for computer-aided design.
"One of the major engines is the emergence of a group of high-value consumers
who are increasingly stressing individuality and personal preferences."
Gao estimates the size of this group at more than 100 million, one in 13 of
the country's total population.
Song says that the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's
top economic planner, has long been working on a preferential policy to boost
the industrial design business in the country.
"It is very likely to be announced this year," he says.
But there is a long way to go before China becomes a truly global design
workshop.
"The design business in China is, to a large extent, backed by the
government," says Song.
"Only when most domestic firms' awareness of the importance of design rises
significantly can the country become a global design centre. And that could take
a long time."
Hopefully, they will learn this lesson faster than Wang Mazi
Scissors.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates) |