Japanese Media: Japanese Companies' Presence Diminishes at Supply Chain Expo

According to a June 23 report by Japan's Jiji Press: The fourth China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo opened on the 22nd in Beijing, China. The United States, as last year, maintained a strong presence.

Meanwhile, the visibility of Japanese companies has declined significantly, reflecting the deterioration of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"I believe we can expand our business operations in China this year," said a representative from an American soybean company attending the exhibition.

At the summit meeting between the leaders of China and the U.S. held in Beijing in May, both sides confirmed a policy direction toward expanding trade. Voices such as "government support" (from Chinese trading companies) were heard at the event, signaling favorable conditions for future business expansion.

Major U.S. semiconductor companies, including NVIDIA and Qualcomm, set up large exhibition booths. According to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, which organized the event, the scale of U.S. exhibits remained unchanged compared to last year, ranking first among foreign participants.

Among Japanese companies, Sumitomo Electric Industries and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) continued their participation for the second consecutive year. However, some companies reduced their exhibition scale or chose not to participate at all.

Since November last year, when Sanae Higashi made controversial remarks about Taiwan’s emergency status, Sino-Japanese relations have grown colder. China responded by stating: "We don’t want to get overly entangled with Japan right now."

A Japanese corporate executive candidly admitted that his company’s ranking on the opening day “wasn’t as high as last year.” Some Japanese firms were even excluded from invitations to events held in China, expressing helplessness: "We can only wait for the storm to pass."

Nevertheless, this time the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade also invited several Japanese business representatives. Shoji Matsamoto, President of the Kansai Economic Federation (also Chairman of Sumitomo Electric), made remarks at the airport emphasizing: "The business community in Kansai will work hard to restore normal economic and trade relations between the two countries." A Japanese company official revealed: "It seems China may be showing slight signs of easing on Sino-Japanese relations."

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868790656141531/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.