The commerce bureau of the Changzhou National Hi-tech District sent an investment promotion team to Japan on December 12, the first such trade mission in three years to the country.

"Our team will visit enterprises and institutions in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, where we will understand the local economic and trade development, introduce the business environment and pro-innovation initiatives of Changzhou," said Ma Yongmei, deputy director of the commerce bureau.

(Photo/Tang Ying)

The team has brought a tailored investment handbook to attract investment, such as the number of Japanese enterprises in the district and industrial growth.

In the past three years, the district has tried in many ways to maintain a close contact with foreign investors including more than 1,000 online meetings and virtual visits.

Among the important developments, SMC Corporation, a leading Japanese manufacture of automatic control equipment, decided in 2021 to invest $100 million in the first phase to build the East China base of production, research, development and sales of high-end pneumatic components.

Changzhou has recently unveiled the China-Japan (Changzhou) Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park, which is already home to 260 Japanese enterprises with a total investment of nearly $3 billion. This included investment from Fortune 500 enterprises such as Bridgestone, Komatsu, Sumitomo Electric and THK.