"Guangdong is China's largest economic province and a pioneer of reform and opening up, with a large number of leading enterprises. Local governments have been actively embracing foreign enterprises and providing excellent relevant services for investment. This provides a favorable investment environment for Japanese companies," said Okada Eiji, director-general of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Guangzhou (South China), in a recent interview with GDToday.

"Japanese-funded companies can become a model of high-quality development in Guangdong and continue to contribute to the economic development of the province," Okada Eiji believed.

Japanese enterprises are deeply invested in Guangdong's manufacturing industry

Economic and trade cooperation between Guangdong and Japan has been showing steady growth in recent years. Currently, there are about 1,400 Japanese-funded enterprises in Guangdong, most of which are deeply engaged in the manufacturing industry and have a positive effect on local economic development.

For example, Shenzhen Murata Technology Co., Ltd. and Epson Engineering (Shenzhen) Ltd. are two of the top ten taxpayers in Shenzhen. In addition, Fujifilm Manufacturing Shenzhen Corp., AGC Display Glass (Shenzhen) Inc., and Epson Engineering (Shenzhen) Ltd. are listed among Shenzhen's top ten carbon dioxide emission reduction enterprises.

Okada Eiji stressed that Guangdong attaches great importance to high-quality development and prioritizes the manufacturing industry, which is very encouraging for Japanese enterprises.

"Guangdong has a number of influential startups, which Japanese enterprises are interested in working with. Factory automation, farm automation, and autonomous driving are our focus areas."

GBA boasts a promising consumer market

Another focal point for investment from Japan is the service industry and consumer market of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). According to Okada Eiji, the consumer market in the GBA has great potential because it has developed cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao, and has a rather large population.

In recent years, Guangdong has actively expanded the opening up of the service industry. At the end of 2022, Guangzhou was approved by the State Council to carry out a comprehensive pilot project to expand the opening up of the service industry, which may present opportunities for Japanese enterprises, Okada Eiji added.

Okada Eiji believed that with the further advancement of high-quality development and the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure, GBA's consumer market boasts enormous potential. In January 2023, Japan's Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. established a new dairy and candy factory in Guangzhou, intending to tap into the local market.

"We believe that more Japanese companies will come here to invest in the service industry. We also wish local governments could further convey the charm of the consumer market of the GBA."