Passengers pose for a group photo before boarding the chartered plane to Japan. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]
An economic and trade tour kicked off with a chartered plane carrying representatives from foreign trade companies in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, to Japan on Oct 27.
One of the participants, Chen Hui, who is the foreign trade manager of Jiangsu Hodo Imports and Exports Co Ltd, said that Japan is an important overseas market for Hodo and that the company had arranged eight to 10 trips to the country each year before the pandemic.
"We now communicate with clients online and it is difficult to get a comprehensive understanding of their demands," noted Chen, adding that the company expected to expand its operations in the Japanese market via this trip.
Chen revealed that he brought about 100 kinds of sample clothes and nearly 300 kinds of fabrics, all of which are new products for the next spring and summer.
Epidemic prevention kits for passengers of the chartered plane. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]
Government officials from the Wuxi Investment Promotion Center and Huishan Economic Development Zone also went to Japan to attract investment from the country.
"The chartered plane reopened our international investment attraction tours after three years of suspension," said Liu Dan, deputy director of the Wuxi Investment Promotion Center.
In August, the Wuxi municipal bureau of commerce started preparing to charter a plane to transport local businesspeople to Japan in an effort to help local businesses expand into international markets and stabilize foreign trade.
Wuxi is a renowned hub of Japanese investment in the Yangtze River Delta. The city is currently home to more than 1,200 Japanese-funded companies, which have invested $17.06 billion in 1,273 projects in the city.
