Japanese companies eager to capitalize on vast potential in Chinese market

TIANJIN -- Okada Yoshihide, a Japanese businessman based in North China's Tianjin municipality for nearly two decades, has recently been busy revising his company's production plan for this year.

"Our company's research and development (R&D) center in Tianjin has gone into service officially this year, and we will develop more competitive products in this port city for the Chinese and international markets," said Okada, general manager of Pegasus (Tianjin) Sewing Machine Co Ltd.

Established in 1994, the Tianjin-based company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pegasus Sewing Machine Mfg Co Ltd, a century-old brand of industrial sewing machines from Japan.

Through nearly 30 years of development, the subsidiary has evolved into Pegasus's most important production base and sales market on a global scale, with an annual output of over 100,000 sewing machines.

"The friendship between Pegasus and China has lasted for almost half a century," said Okada, who came to Tianjin in 2005. He added that he was deeply impressed by the continued development of the Chinese economy as well as the economic and trade relations between China and Japan.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, trade between China and Japan reached 546.4 billion yuan ($76 billion) during the first quarter of this year, a size topping all the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members.

China has a good business environment, as well as a stable sales network and production chain, which provides ample space and solid backing for foreign enterprises to take root in the Chinese market, Okada said. "We will increase our efforts in R&D and sales of new products to further expand our business in China."

Okada added that as China's high-end sewing market thrives, Pegasus's newly-established R&D center in Tianjin will help the company cater to China's growing demand for high-performance, multi-functional sewing machines.

In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to create a more favorable business environment for Japanese enterprises. A case in point is the RCEP agreement, which is the first free trade deal between Japan and its largest trading partner China.

Thanks to such commendable efforts, Japanese companies have remained confident in the Chinese market, and continued to expand investment and business. For instance, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance (China) Company Limited has increased its capital in China by 375 million yuan this year, while Meiji Holdings Co Ltd has put into operation a new factory in Tianjin.

Apart from the improving business environment, Okada is also visibly impressed by China's rapid infrastructure development over the past 20 years, which has helped make his life and business easier.

"I am very surprised by the convenience of transportation. Now I can fly directly from Tianjin to Osaka. The number of private cars in China is also very impressive, especially the new energy vehicles," Okada said.

"We have developed in China, and we have also witnessed China's development. I believe our R&D center in Tianjin will inject new energy into the development of the company," he added.