JETRO Topics

Dialogues between Governors of Zhejiang, Shandong and Fujian Provinces and JETRO Chairman

November 2018

On November 5, on the occasion of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, JETRO Chairman and CEO Hiroyuki Ishige had meetings individually with Governor Yuan Jiajun of Zhejiang Province, Governor Gong Zheng of Shandong Province and Governor Tang Dengjie of Fujian Province.

Chairman Ishige met Governor Yuan of Zhenjian Province at the reception room (located in the exhibition zone of high-end devices) within the Japan Booth of the CIIE. It was there second meeting since the governor’s visit to Tokyo this August. Expressing appreciation for JETRO's contribution to the CIIE in allowing over 450 Japanese companies and institutes to exhibit, Governor Yuan expressed high hopes for further expanding economic interaction between China and Japan following Japanese Prime Minister Abe's visit to China.

Chairman Ishige emphasized that business exchange between Japan and Zhejiang, where there are numerous private companies such as venture startups, is important for the future economic development of both countries. Both parties agreed to continue efforts between the Zhejiang provincial government and JETRO to create opportunities for companies to interact in a proactive manner.

Dialogue between Governor Yuan and Chairman Ishige

Next, Chairman Ishige talked with Governor Gong of Shandong Province. Governor Gong stated his desire to see cooperation with JETRO realized in the following areas:

  1. Expanding trade (especially imports to Shandong)
  2. Promoting two-way investment
  3. Facilitating exchange in service industries such as cultural tourism
  4. Pursuing cooperation in third country markets

He particularly emphasized that his government would like to proactively promote business exchange with Japan in the fields of emerging industries like information and health and welfare, which the province is currently investing efforts to vitalize. Chairman Ishige made the following proposals to the government of Shandong as an action plan to be carried out by JETRO:

Dialogue between Governor Gong and Chairman Ishige

  1. Establishing a framework for holding regular meetings with Japanese companies active in the province
  2. Expanding two-way investment
  3. Expanding the network between companies in critical industries such as health and welfare, environment protection and energy conservation

For the first proposal, he presented Governor Gong with a copy of the " White Paper on the Chinese Economy and Japanese Companies" published by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, and stressed the importance of regular meetings between the provincial government and the 2,000 Japanese companies active in Shandong. Regarding promotion of two-way investment and cooperation in such fields as healthcare, on which JETRO and the Shandong government have the same ideas, both parties confirmed that they will work together to realize the activities as early as possible.

During the dialogue with Governor Tang of Fujian Province, Chairman Ishige made the following three proposals to the governor toward strengthening economic and business exchange between his province and JETRO:

  1. Holding regular meetings with Japanese companies in the province
  2. Facilitating two-way investment
  3. Helping companies, including ventures, expand their networks

As there are only 200 Japanese companies active in Fujian, a low number compared to China’s other coastal provinces, he underlined that meetings with Japanese companies in the province would be of great assistance in streamlining and improving the business environment.

Dialogue between Governor Tang and Chairman Ishige

Governor Tang agreed with the proposals and expressed his desire to proactively work together with JETRO to make them a reality. In addition, the governor mentioned how he has been aware of the contribution by JETRO to China’s economic development since his time serving as the deputy mayor in Shanghai from 2003 to 2011, and expressed his high expectations for JETRO's assistance in facilitating business interaction between Fujian and Japan.

Both parties confirmed that this top-level dialogue was a starting point to strengthening the relationship and agreed upon deepening mutual understanding.