Meanwhile, as trade and bilateral cooperation have been expanding between China and Japan, the number of Japanese expats in China has also been on the rise. We found 42-year-old Keijiro Sugiyama working in a consulting firm in Beijing. Our Cao Bing takes a look at his life in China.

Meet Keijiro Sugiyama. The Chief Executive Officer of a Japanese consulting firm in Beijing. Today, the Japanese CEO is trying to hold his first meeting in Chinese. 

Still a little bit difficult.

Sugiyama started learning Chinese when he came to work in Beijing in 2017. According to his teacher -- He is a very hard-working student. 

His bond with the language was first forged 20 years ago.

KEIJIRO SUGIYAMA, CEO D.A.CONSORTIUM BEIJING "It was in 1998. I was 20. I came to China for the first time. I took a train in Guangzhou, and went to the west to Nanning, and then to Vietnam. I didn't know the language at all. But as Chinese and Japanese languages share a lot of similar characters and words, I wrote down what I wanted to say on a paper along the way and I made it to Vietnam."

Sugiyama says language carries the culture of a country. Getting to know the culture is a must for those doing business in any country.

To better understand the culture, Sugiyama also likes to travel whenever he's free. During his 2 years' life in China, he has travelled to as many as eleven cities. His dream is to leave his footprints on every single province of China. And his next stop is?

KEIJIRO SUGIYAMA, CEO D.A.CONSORTIUM BEIJING "My next stop is Chengdu, Chongqing, I really do want to see the Giant Pandas."

In his free time, Sugiyama often hangs out with friends and meets up with the local Chinese people.

KEIJIRO SUGIYAMA, CEO D.A.CONSORTIUM BEIJING "I want to make a lot more Chinese friends, and drink and talk with them."

To the thousands of Japanese people living in Beijing, Sugiyama is just one among many. But as an individual, there is still something that Sugiyama wants to show to the Chinese people.

KEIJIRO SUGIYAMA, CEO D.A.CONSORTIUM BEIJING "Smile, smile from Japanese people."

CB, CGTN.