The delegation of officials from the consulate general of Japan in Guangzhou tour the Zengcheng factory of GAC Honda Co Ltd. [Photo\newsgd.com]

A delegation of officials from the consulate general of Japan in Guangzhou visited Zengcheng district on May 28. 

The delegation toured the Yongning street community service station for foreigners, as well as the Zengcheng factories of GAC Honda Co Ltd and Guangzhou Denso Co Ltd.

Hideki Ishizuka, the consul general of Japan in Guangzhou, said that he hoped to gain insight into the current situation of Japanese-funded companies in Guangzhou after the COVID-19 pandemic through this tour. 

"Honda is a leading auto brand worldwide and Denso is one of the biggest auto parts suppliers. I'm glad that both of the companies have gotten back on track smoothly with the support of the local government," said Ishizuka.

The Consul General added that he is optimistic about Sino-Japanese cooperation and trade after the pandemic. "The situation got better throughout April, although restrictions still exist in terms of imports and exports. I believe we can compensate for the losses and even see higher volumes than last year in just a few months, however,” he said.

Chen Xiaohua, vice chief executive of the Zengcheng government, said that the government is maintaining close contact with the enterprises in the district, and has been helping them return to work since February. To date, 99 percent of major industrial firms have restarted production in the district.

Shintaro Takeuchi, a senior staff member of Guangzhou Denso, said that the company had reopened on Feb 17 and all of its employees have returned to work since April 28. "The local government provided us with both guidance and medical supplies to prepare for resumption. They also helped us coordinate with suppliers, as well as offered subsidies and fee waivers worth about 7 million yuan ($980,838.49)," Takeuchi said.

Zengcheng is in the east of Guangzhou connecting with Dongguan, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and the eastern Guangdong area. Its development district was classified as a national project in 2010 and has gathered a large number of enterprises in the fields of information technology, new energy vehicles, and fintech. Its total industrial output exceeded 137.4 billion yuan in 2019.