[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Hirotaka Murakami is the general manager of Katsushiro Machinery (Shandong) Co in the Jining high-tech industrial development zone.

Since taking on the role in 2017, Murakami has witnessed the growth of the company and the impressive development of the city.

According to Murakami, the company has built a new plant in Jining that has smart and environmentally friendly equipment.

The living and working environment in Jining has also greatly improved over the years, said Murakami. He noted that the newly built viaduct has alleviated the city's traffic congestion. 

Murakami described his life in Jining as free, convenient and happy.

"Although I have no family members in Jining, I made a lot of friends here," said Murakami. 

Whenever he misses the cuisine of his hometown, chefs at the Jining service center for foreign businesspeople will try to cook Japanese food for him.

"Jining people are very nice. They make me feel at home," said Murakami.

The Japanese expat also spoke about how the local government offered its full support to help his company resume operations during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. 

According to Murakami, his company is the first among five subsidiaries in the Katsushiro group to resume production during the pandemic. Many of the group's production lines were also transferred to Jining, resulting in a 20 percentage point growth in the company's exports.

Jining in Foreigners' Eyes is a series of short clips focusing on expats living and working in Jining and sharing their experiences in the city. Watch this episode to learn more!