Wan Gang, minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the PRC, and Renato Brunetta, Italian minister for Public Administration and Innovation, unveiled the nameplate of Sino-Italian Design Innovation Center in Tongji University (Shanghai) on the afternoon of April 21, 2011.
　　
Hundreds of people attended the ceremony, including Attilio Massimo Lannucci, Italian Ambassador to China, Pei Gang, president of Tongji University, Wang Kemin, director of Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department, He Renke, dean of School of Design, Hunan University as well as people from related departments of China and Italy and academic circles.
　　
The establishment of the center is a major project to implement the Three-year Action Plan of Enhancing Sino-Italian Economic Cooperation signed and issued by premiers of China and Italy in 2010. Sub design research centers were set up in Italy’s capital Rome and China’s Shanghai and Changsha cities. The design center in Changsha is oriented at industrial design while the center in Shanghai focuses on city design, costume design, and heritage protection.