Companies and Chinese from Japan find growth opportunities in Yichang

By Tan Maolin

Wrapping up a visit to the city, delegates from Japanese companies and business organizations said they had found numerous cooperation opportunities in Yichang.

The reason for the visit was a special session of the 22nd Conference on Overseas Chinese Pioneering and Developing in China, which focuses on Japan-Yichang cooperation. Many of the representatives are Chinese people working and living in Japan or Japanese with Chinese ancestry. The conference, whose main venue was Wuhan, lasted from November 16 till 19.

The delegation – which represented more than 20 Japanese companies, including the Chinese branches of Aeon, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Hitachi Astemo and Taiyo Yuden – visited key industrial parks and enterprises in Yichang.

"Yichang has the world's largest hydroelectric power station, the Three Gorges Dam, and is one of the world’s few phosphate ore production sites. In my view, there is huge potential for cooperation in the fields of electrical energy, chemicals, biomedicine, and pesticides,” said Takehiko Saeki, the Chief Representative of the Wuhan branch of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), who was on his second visit to the city.

“This visit has given us a better understanding of Yichang’s social and economic development. We will share this information with Japanese companies – whether they’ve already invested in China or not – in order to enhance business cooperation between Yichang and Japan,” he said.

The hometown of Chinese patriot and poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE), Yichang has some unique cultural advantages. Saeki said that, since Qu is also famous in Japan, Qu and tea could become cultural bridges to connect Yichang and Japan more closely.

During the special session, the Yichang Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Hubei Chamber of Commerce in Japan signed agreements on establishing a Yichang Economic and Trade Cooperation Contact Station in Japan.

Zhang Ting, chief representative of the Hubei Representative Office of the Japan Hubei Chamber of Commerce, said: "The Hubei Chamber of Commerce in Japan has 10 Yichang members from the media, technology, finance and other industries. I hope overseas Chinese living in Japan can become a ‘bridge’ to encourage more Chinese to invest in Yichang, strengthen exchanges in technology, projects and talents, and help promote Yichang’s high-quality economic and social development."

Ge Zongtao, president of the Overseas Chinese Doctors Association in Japan, signed a cooperation agreement with China Three Gorges Corporation on behalf of the association to set up a Yichang Talent Contact Station in Japan.

"Yichang is a cultural city suitable for living, working and traveling,” Ge said. “The Doctors Association has more than 1,000 members from a wide range of professional fields all over the world. The contact station platform will provide opportunities for development for outstanding talents, a win-win for themselves and for Yichang.”

Zhang Zheng, chairman of Xinwan Trading, signed an agreement with Zigui Zhenshi Trading to buy local oranges. "My business with Yichang began six years ago when we bought oranges from Zigui, as year-end gifts for Japanese companies’ employees in China," said Zhang. “Yichang's superior resources can be combined with Japan’s advanced extraction technology for the deep processing of agricultural products and traditional Chinese medicine raw materials.”

He said: "Yichang has fabulous development potential. In previous years, coastal cities were the first choice for most Japanese companies seeking development in China. As their strategy shifts inland, the central region is becoming increasingly attractive.”

Zhang said: “Yichang has good transport links, rich phosphate rock, and a strong chemical industry. Those factors all incite Japanese companies to invest in Yichang.”