VIENNA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 World Industrial Design Conference and the Industrial Design World Expo will be held in October this year in the Chinese coastal city of Yantai, Shandong Province, according to a press briefing by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) here on Friday.

The briefing is one of a series of activities to build a global cooperation platform for design innovation promoted by the China Industrial Design Association (CIDA), the Yantai municipal government and representatives of design industries from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland, amongst others, said UNIDO.

Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento, Director of UNIDO's Department of Trade, Investment and Innovation, said "Industrial design, through innovation and creativity, is essential to attain the objectives of the 2030 Development Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Developments Goals, and especially Goal 9 on infrastructure, innovation, and sustainable industrialization."

"Industrial design plays a critical role in upgrading quality, increasing value addition and improving competitiveness of manufacturing and services," he said.

"Better industrial design and innovation has the potential to make, from the very beginning, economic and social development in a greener, more inclusive and more sustainable way," he added.

The World Industrial Design Conference (WIDC) is a platform for international exchange, research and cooperation among design industries, according to UNIDO.

More than 2,000 representatives from over 30 countries and regions are expected to participate in the 2019 conference and exhibition in China, according to the organization.