Dutch Minister of Trade celebrates 2013 BJDW nomination

'Design for Innovation, Innovation for Design' with this theme the city of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, and the Dutch Creative Industry sector will be present at the Beijing Design Week 2013. Tonight, Ms. Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, joined by Mr. LIN Keqing, the Vice Mayor of Beijing (北京市副市长林克庆), celebrate the special nomination of the city of Amsterdam to serve as Guest City for the 2013 edition of the Beijing Design Week.

This special event takes place at a unique Trade Diner organized by the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing. More than 200 representatives of Dutch and Chinese companies will enjoy various highlights of Dutch Design including the world renowned VANMOOF bicycle. For this special occasion the Minister will be dressed head to toe in a specially designed outfit by Chinese Dutch designer Hu Sheguang, currently also the Chief designer of Chinese label ‘Als’ as well as of his own fashion house specializing in Haute Couture. Hu merges the best of Dutch and Chinese design sensibilities within his designs and serves as an excellent example of how the two cultures can connect on a creative level.

An important focus of Minister Ploumen’s policy is making trade and economic growth more sustainable and socially responsible. The Dutch VANMOOF bicycle is an excellent example of how an essential item in both Chinese and Dutch daily life, the bicycle, is re-designed to meet a global need for simple, practical transport for healthier more sustainable cities and at the same time also pleases the eye, the mind and the body.

Transportation is an important factor within urban planning. Dutch urban planning and architecture embodies the soul of Dutch Design, it is bold and innovative with a strong visual impact, and it is smart and pioneering in relation to public infrastructure and long term planning. It always gives particular attention to the social aspects of the built environment – making buildings more sustainable and socially responsible.

“The world faces an increasing number of problems that no state, company or international organization can solve on its own. China is an indispensable partner in this regard and I look forward to new creative and innovative ideas that both Chinese and Dutch designers will bring about at the 2013 Beijing Design Week on how these problems can be tackled.”

This is the key of how the Netherlands envisions its cooperation with China in this field – linking design and architecture to China’s most challenging social developments, working jointly on long term solutions and connecting our cultural exchange to economic opportunities. Partnerships and collaborations such as with the Beijing Design Week offer an excellent platform to jointly develop this vision.

(resource: Beijing Design Week 2013)