Shinzo Abe Visits China: Hopes high for China-Japan business relations

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As China gets set for its first visit from a Japanese prime minister in seven years, hopes are high among Japanese businesses for improved relations. CGTN's GUAN YANG reports from Dalian, a northeastern Chinese city that has become a popular investment destination for Japanese companies.

For global Japanese giant Mitsubishi Electric, over a quarter of its revenue comes from China.

The company has enjoyed scores of opportunities brought by 40 years of China's reform and opening-up, and they've placed great value on China's openness.

KATSUYUKI TOMIZAWA CHAIRMAN, MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC "We believe the Chinese market has been and will continue to be an open market, like our technologies. Our strategy of open technology and resources is in line with China's determination of further opening-up."

Takashi Okubo - the director of one of the world's leading linear motion manufacturers, has just celebrated his 62nd birthday. Every morning, he likes to walk around the production plant. Over the past 18 years, his company has evolved from basic assembly lines to a large transnational corporation in Dalian.

TAKASHI OKUBO DIRECTOR, THK MANUFACTURING OF CHINA "Expansion in the Chinese market has been our top priority, especially as China is now gearing up for a high-tech manufacturing update, the decisions we made here center around China's big picture."

There are over 1,800 Japanese companies that have set foot in Dalian since China's reform and opening up. And being at the front-line of Sino-Japan economic cooperation, what happens here can often send strong signals in terms of business fluctuations.

GUAN YANG DALIAN, LIAONING PROVINCE "Business goes up and down, as do political ties between countries. The upcoming summit between these two Asian economic powerhouses is expected to bring closer economic cooperation that paves the way for warmer political ties."

More than half of the Japanese firms that have expanded overseas are based in China. According to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization: Japanese companies that have performed well are deciding to maintain or even further expand their presence in China.

MASATO MATSUYAMA, CHAIRMAN JAPANESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, DALIAN "Absolutely, China has been a profitable market for Japanese companies, and a crucial part of their oversea operations, and for Japanese investments, bilateral ties can never be overlooked."

KATSUYUKI TOMIZAWA CHAIRMAN, MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC "We rely on collaboration with our Chinese partners and various governmental departments. I think China and Japan have much in common in terms of history and culture, the two neighbors can prosper together through deepening cooperation."

GUAN YANG, CGTN.