Tetsuro Homma, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce in China and global vice-president of Panasonic Holdings Group. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Qingdao Multinationals Summit is an important platform for multinational companies to understand China and invest in China, as well as an important window for Shandong province to open up to the outside world and attract investment, Tetsuro Homma, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce in China and global vice-president of Panasonic Holdings Group, told China Daily.

Homma said that multinational companies will be able to strengthen their understanding and confidence in China's reform and opening-up and expand cooperation with Shandong province through the Qingdao summit, which is focused on facilitating exchanges and win-win cooperation between different parties.

According to Homma, China has opened its doors wider to the outside world since the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, which has provided valuable opportunities for a vast number of foreign-invested enterprises in China.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, China's economy has achieved steady growth, further strengthening the confidence of foreign-funded enterprises in developing in China, he noted.

Homma said that Panasonic, which focuses on the three major business areas - healthy and intelligent living space, new energy auto parts, and intelligent manufacturing - in China, will play a leading role and actively expand its investment in China.

He noted that Panasonic has added 14 new investment bases in China since the pandemic ended. More bases are also being planned.

Homma pledged to use his position within the Japan Chamber of Commerce in China to share the benefits of cooperation with more Japanese companies and promote the development of Japanese companies in China.

Panasonic first started investing in Qingdao in 1993. It currently has about 1,840 employees and generates annual sales of more than 1.3 billion yuan ($177.97 million). The company's main products include transparent touch screens used in car navigation systems and copiers, as well as other kinds of touch screens used in mobile phones, vehicles and other fields.