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Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong Meets with Chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China Ikezoe Yoichi

2023-01-20 23:51

On January 18, 2023, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong met with Chairman of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China and Chairman of Itochu (China) Holding Co., Ltd. Ikezoe Yoichi. They exchanged in-depth views on China’s economy and China-Japan relations, among others, in a friendly manner.

Liu Jinsong said that China’s economy has strong resilience, great potential and full vitality, with its super-large-scale market and unparalleled industrial agglomeration and supporting industries, as well as the remarkable achievements in the overall level and upgrading speed of infrastructure and human resources. China has always been a promising destination for foreign enterprises to invest and do business, and governments at all levels in China will, as always, promote the policy of opening up and attracting foreign investment, and strive to create a more favorable business environment for Chinese and foreign enterprises by treating them as equals. China always cares about and actively resolves the legitimate concerns and demands of Japanese enterprises and other foreign enterprises in China, and is glad to see Japanese enterprises seizing the opportunity to further develop in the Chinese market.

Liu Jinsong said that recently, the Chinese government has adapted its COVID-19 response measures based on science and in light of the latest situation, injecting strong impetus into China’s economy and bringing new opportunities for cross-border travel and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the rest of the world. Many neighboring countries welcome Chinese tourists, and many political figures have also delivered warm speeches. China appreciates all these. That being said, China also expresses its strong dissatisfaction with the restrictive measures taken by certain countries targeting Chinese tourists. This is a typical “formalist hypocrisy” and “double standards”, unscientific, unprofessional, discriminatory and politicized, and is also very unfavorable to the cooperation between China and the rest of the world in industrial and supply chains, in particular business exchanges. Liu expressed his belief that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China has noted this issue and will play a constructive role.

Liu Jinsong noted that China and Japan have very close and mutually beneficial economic and trade relations. This is the result of the hard work of generations of the two countries’ people, including the Japanese business and industrial circles, and is a major foundation and highlight of bilateral relations, which should be cherished and maintained. Both sides should follow economic laws, uphold business and market rules, respect entrepreneurship and the principle of free trade, and strive to forestall the interference of non-economic factors and third-party factors in economic, trade and investment cooperation, so as to avoid overstretching the concept of national security and other improper measures from impacting the operational efficiency of enterprises and increasing business costs. Ideologizing cooperation in industrial and supply chains does not conform to the trend of the times and the interests of the industrial and commercial circles, and hurts others’ interests without benefiting oneself.

Ikezoe Yoichi recalled the extraordinary history and achievements of Itochu (China) Holding Co., Ltd. in investing and operating in China, and said that Japanese enterprises value China’s market opportunities and always have confidence in the prospects of China’s economy. Ikezoe Yoichi said that he believes China’s adjustment to the COVID-19 response policy will better facilitate the operation of Japanese enterprises in China, and looks forward to further expanding economic and trade cooperation with China. Ikezoe Yoichi noted that the economic security policy by the Japanese government confused part of Japanese enterprises in China, and hopes that it will not impact or sever normal cooperation in economy, trade, science and technology.

The two sides also exchanged wishes for the Chinese Spring Festival.

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