On the afternoon of February 27, Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Party Committee, Zhou Junbo, met with Okada Masaru, the Consul General of Japan in Shanghai, who led a delegation of Japanese companies. The discussion focused on further deepening friendship and strengthening cooperation. He Miao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Pinghu Economic and Technological Development Zone Party Committee, also attended the meeting. Relevant representatives from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Shanghai), Nidec Motor Corporation (Zhejiang), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Shanghai Office, House Foods (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Mizuho Bank (China) Suzhou Branch, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (China) Hangzhou Branch, and the Shanghai Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting. Representatives from related companies delivered speeches and discussed new opportunities for cooperation.

Zhou Junbo welcomed the delegation from Okada Masaru and introduced Pinghu City in depth using four "ones": one lotus flower, one group of enterprises, one lifestyle, and one set of policies. He said that Pinghu is home to the Li Shutong Memorial Hall. Li Shutong was a pioneer in Sino-Japanese cultural exchange, and the city spirit of "Pinghe Bao Ben" and "Yongmeng Jingjin," derived from his personality and spirit, is guiding Pinghu to stride forward toward high-quality development. Pinghu’s foreign-invested industry is concentrated and is one of the regions most closely linked to China’s international investment cooperation. It has established long-term and stable cooperation with Japan in industries such as automotive parts, advanced equipment manufacturing, new materials, and biomedicine. Pinghu is also an ideal place to live and visit, with unique coastal tourism resources, picturesque rural landscapes, and a deep historical and cultural heritage that many Japanese people living in Pinghu long to return to. Pinghu also has a comprehensive policy system that provides one-stop, considerate services to ensure smooth development for enterprises and talent in the city.

Zhou Junbo stated that Pinghu is a gathering place for Japanese companies’ investments. He hopes that both parties can start from this meeting to strengthen industrial cooperation further, promote better company connections, and achieve a higher level of industrial complementarity and mutual advantages. Additionally, they aim to further broaden economic and trade exchanges, attracting more Japanese quality companies to invest and expand in Pinghu, leveraging Pinghu’s advantages like its proximity to the port and concentration of foreign investment. Furthermore, they aim to enhance cultural exchanges, explore cooperation in education, culture, tourism, and other areas, and work together to achieve new results in cooperation.

Okada Masaru expressed his gratitude for Pinghu’s long-standing support for Japanese-invested enterprises and the Japanese expatriate community. He mentioned that Pinghu has a superior geographical location and industrial development concentration, making it a city with great potential for Japanese investment in China. He noted that Japan-China relations are in a key period of improvement, and the implementation of visa-exemption policies will provide practical conveniences for Japanese citizens coming to Pinghu. He hopes that both sides will seize the opportunities of the times and advance cooperation on a larger scale, at a deeper level, and at a higher standard. Okada also expressed that the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai highly values economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between Japan and China. They are optimistic about Pinghu's business environment and a series of warm-hearted policies, and will play a crucial bridging role to actively promote cooperation between Japan and Pinghu in industrial development, economic and trade technology, friendship city exchanges, youth exchanges, and other fields, contributing more to enhancing Sino-Japanese friendship. He also hopes Pinghu can offer more policy support in areas such as social security, fire inspections, labor recruitment, and transportation to better assist Japanese-invested enterprises, care for the lives of the Japanese expatriate community, and provide higher-quality services to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.