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China News Service, July 23 (Intern Zhang Shuyu, Li Ziman) "I am deeply honored to witness the mutual reflection of China-Japan trade and economic cooperation and the wave of reform and opening up. This historic opportunity of the times is not only a profound affirmation of our corporate development strategy, but also a powerful boost to accelerate our internationalization process and achieve higher-quality development." Recently, Pan Ruowei, President of the Japan Beijing General Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with China News Service.

Pan Ruowei has been starting a business and doing business in Japan for nearly 40 years. As a witness to the development and changes in China-Japan trade and economic cooperation, he has always kept pace with the times, seized development opportunities, adjusted business strategies and directions in a timely manner, and achieved certain results.

Pan Ruowei, President of the Japan Beijing Chamber of Commerce, photo provided by the interviewee

　　Keep pace with the times and seek business opportunities

Pan Ruowei was born in Beijing in 1959 and his ancestral home is in Shandong. In 1985, he went to Waseda University as a researcher of the International Exchange Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to conduct social science research, during which he obtained a master's degree.

In 1993, after completing his further studies, Pan Ruowei embarked on a journey to Japan to explore the business landscape.

Pan Ruowei introduced that in the early stage of the company, he led the team to establish a cooperative relationship with well-known textile manufacturers in Shikoku, Japan, and successfully expanded the production base of high-end cashmere products to Inner Mongolia, China. Through careful planning and execution, this business quickly emerged in the market, not only winning the recognition of customers, but also achieving an annual turnover of more than 2 billion yen at its peak, laying the foundation for the company's development.

However, challenges and difficulties were inevitable during the company's development. Pan Ruowei recalled that in the face of the surge in production costs caused by price fluctuations in the raw wool market, he led his team to expand the number of commissioned processing factories to more than 50 through a diversified layout, effectively dispersing supply chain risks and ensuring stable and efficient production.

"With the development of the Japanese economy, the profit margins of the textile industry have gradually shrunk. This made me deeply aware of the limitations of traditional manufacturing in the economic environment at the time and the urgency of its transformation. We must break through the old framework, embrace change, and find and invest in emerging industries with stronger growth momentum and broad prospects." Pan Ruowei said.

After market research and strategic analysis, he realized that the booming Japanese information technology service industry, especially in the fields of cloud computing, system integration and artificial intelligence, was expanding at an unprecedented rate. So in 1998, Pan founded a new company, BigHands, to provide cutting-edge computer software development services.

The road to transformation is not an easy one. Pan Ruowei admitted that in the early stages of transformation, the company faced many challenges in adapting to the needs of emerging markets, mastering cutting-edge technologies, and building a new business model. Especially in the early stages of software development projects, interpreting the specifications of Japanese companies with Japanese thinking logic and expression became a difficult hurdle that needed to be overcome. This requires not only a deep technical foundation, but also a deep understanding of Japan's business culture and traditions to accurately grasp customer needs and achieve efficient communication.

To this end, Pan Ruowei actively participated in various social activities and made extensive friends with Japanese business people. This not only deepened mutual understanding and trust, but also opened up a broad business territory for the company and won the favor and trust of many heavyweight customers.

"For me, these challenges and experiences are not only valuable assets in my career, but also an important driving force to lead the company to move forward and reach greater heights. They also enable us to keep pace with the times and continue to provide customers with value and services that exceed expectations," said Pan Ruowei.

　　Riding the wave of trade policy reform

On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) officially came into effect. This is also the first time that China and Japan have reached a free trade arrangement, and there is a historic opportunity for Sino-Japanese trade.

Pan Ruowei seized this opportunity to deepen the all-round cooperation with Japan's top technology companies and R&D institutions.

He said: "The entry into force of RCEP not only marks a milestone in the establishment of a free trade relationship between China and Japan for the first time, but also opens an unprecedented golden age of Sino-Japanese trade for our company, paving a broad road for us to deepen our presence in the Japanese market. Taking advantage of this policy dividend, we have not only successfully penetrated more segments of the Japanese market, but also improved the competitiveness of our products and services through preferential measures such as tariff reductions. The reduction in costs directly translates into higher profit margins, bringing substantial growth momentum to the company and putting us in a favorable position in the new era of Sino-Japanese free trade."

Pan Ruowei said that in recent years, the policy coordination between China and Japan in the field of trade and economic cooperation has continued to deepen, and the introduction of a series of support policies has not only lowered the cost threshold for corporate cooperation, but also created a more favorable policy environment for conducting business in Japan.

Pan Ruowei believes that with the continuous integration of the two countries' economies, China and Japan have huge potential for cooperation in cutting-edge fields such as IT, intelligent manufacturing, and green environmental protection. The complementary advantages of China and Japan in these fields will also bring more room for development for overseas Chinese businessmen in Japan.

"In general, overseas Chinese running businesses in Japan face both challenges and opportunities. I encourage and lead the company team to actively integrate into the local society, give full play to their unique advantages, and continue to innovate and seek change. At the same time, as the president of the Japan Beijing General Chamber of Commerce, I shoulder the important task of promoting economic and cultural exchanges between Japan and China. I will continue to uphold the fighting spirit of the 'Descendants of the Dragon', explore new paths for the economic and cultural integration between China and Japan, and contribute our strength to building a bridge of friendly economic cooperation between China and Japan." Pan Ruowei said.

(For more reporting clues, please contact the author of this article, Li Ziman: [email protected]) (China News Service APP)

　　(The views in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investment is risky and you should be cautious when entering the market.)

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Editor-in-charge: Wei Wei and Li Zhongyuan