(Photo from CFP)

The Jiangsu-Japan Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Conference was held in Nanjing City on the afternoon of July 4.

The meeting was jointly organized by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jiangsu Sub-Council, and the Association for the Promotion of International Trade, Japan (JAPIT).

Japan and Jiangsu are geographically close and have frequent economic and trade exchanges. Japan is an important trade partner and source of foreign investment for the coastal province. Less than three weeks ago, a delegation led by Xin Changxing, secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, visited Japan and attended a conference on open innovation cooperation between the two sides.

Foreign-invested enterprises play a significant role in Jiangsu's economic and social development. In recent years, the province has introduced several measures to further optimize the environment for foreign investment, such as revising policies to encourage multinational companies to set up their regional headquarters and functional institutions, and supporting the steady development and upgrade of foreign-invested enterprises. Driven by these measures, Jiangsu has maintained a leading position in China in terms of actual use of foreign investment for many years.

At the conference, Akamatsu Shuichi, Consul General of Japan in Shanghai, stated that Jiangsu is the Chinese province with the deepest ties to Japan. He deeply feels the desire to promote exchanges with Japanese enterprises during each visit to the province. He hopes that the strong people-to-people and economic exchanges will expand from Jiangsu to reach throughout China.