Sino Japanese cooperation in electronic information industry is promising

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. "Since the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan in 1972, the cooperation between China and Japan in the electronic information industry has experienced an extension and expansion from small to large, from private to official, and from local to comprehensive. The industrial cooperation has achieved remarkable results, realizing a leap from vertical division of labor to horizontal division of labor, forming a mutually beneficial and win-win division of labor cooperation relationship, and effectively promoting the industrial upgrading and structural optimization of the two countries." Recently, at the academic seminar on regional cooperation in Northeast Asia and institutional innovation in the Liaoning Free Trade Zone in the context of RCEP, Pang Deliang, director of the Japan Research Center of Jilin University and vice president of the National Association of Japanese Economics, said that at present, China Japan electronic information industry cooperation has become an important part of China Japan economic and trade cooperation.
Pang Deliang said that it was not until the signing of the Sino Japanese Intergovernmental Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation in 1980 that the electronic information industry of China and Japan officially entered a period of comprehensive cooperation. With the continuous expansion of China's opening up to the outside world, the expanding market demand and the continuous improvement of the business environment, Japanese enterprises have set up factories in China in the form of sole proprietorship, joint venture and cooperation, and the total trade volume of the electronic information industry between the two countries has rapidly increased. Although the cooperation between China and Japan in the electronic information industry started late, it has developed rapidly.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance of Japan, Japan's exports to China's electronic information industry increased from 3 trillion yen in 2019 to nearly 4 trillion yen in 2021, and its imports from China's electronic information industry increased from 5 trillion yen in 2019 to 6 trillion yen in 2021. According to the statistics of the Bank of Japan, since 2019, the proportion of Japanese electronic information industry investment in China in manufacturing industry investment in China has remained at double digits, reaching 16.3% in 2021.
Pang Deliang said that in the context of the transformation of new and old kinetic energy and the transformation and development of the digital economy, the new generation of electronic information technology continues to empower traditional industries. The cooperation between China and Japan in the electronic information industry has been extended from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. The pragmatic cooperation between the two sides in the electronic information industry segments such as lithium batteries, new energy car chips, intelligent medical machinery and equipment has been enhanced.
"China Japan cooperation in cutting-edge medical devices has huge potential." As an example, Pang Deliang said that Japan, as a traditional mechanical and electronic industry power, has a global competitive advantage in the field of medical and health equipment. In recent years, China's scientific and technological independent innovation capacity has been continuously improved, the key core technologies of cutting-edge electronic medical devices have been continuously broken through, and the number of independent intellectual property rights of high-end medical devices has continued to increase. At present, China has become the third country in the world to master all the core technologies and complete machine manufacturing of high-end magnetic resonance. During the "Fourteenth Five Year Plan" period, China will enter the stage of deep aging. The combination of Japan's mature equipment system, advanced medical devices and China's huge medical health and elderly care market demand provides a new opportunity for China Japan in-depth cooperation. The high-quality cooperation between the two countries in the field of aging society and intelligent medical equipment is expected to be closer.
In Pang Deliang's view, China Japan electronic information industry cooperation is also facing challenges. He analyzed that the COVID-19, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and other practical issues are profoundly affecting the geopolitical pattern of Northeast Asia, and China Japan relations are at the key node of "no progress, no retreat". In particular, Japan's adjustment of its national economic security policy will have varying degrees of impact on the division of labor, supply chain and industrial chain layout of the global value chain, and the in-depth cooperation between China and Japan in the electronic information industry will face many uncertainties.
"The cooperation between China and Japan in the electronic information industry has gone through 50 years, with foundation, effectiveness and expectations. As an important engine to lead industrial innovation drive, promote economic development, and promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading, the electronic information industry is the target of key cultivation and support between China and Japan, with promising prospects for cooperation." Pang Deliang believed that in order to further promote China Japan electronic information industry cooperation, efforts should be made from the following three aspects:
First, expand the market opening of China Japan electronic information industry and deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Japan. The development of the electronic information industry of China and Japan does not mean that we should work behind closed doors and fight alone. Instead, we should strengthen policy coordination between the two countries, expand the level of market opening, and increase practical cooperation in the subdivided fields of the electronic information industry. The Chinese and Japanese governments should take advantage of the situation to constantly adjust the focus of the cooperation in the electronic information industry, guide the direction of industrial cooperation, expand the areas of convergence of interests, and promote the upgrading of the electronic information industry and the digital and intelligent development of manufacturing industry of both sides according to their respective industrial development positioning, economic and social reform needs, dynamic optimization of international division of labor, external shocks and other factors.
Second, promote the deep integration of China Japan electronic information industry chain with the help of RCEP framework. The signing of RCEP has reached a mutually beneficial and win-win trade system arrangement of bilateral tariff concessions between China and Japan, which is a historic breakthrough. Japan has great advantages in semiconductor fine materials and precision equipment, while China is the world's largest and fastest growing electronic information industry market, with great competitive advantages in the middle and downstream of the electronic information industry chain. Therefore, China and Japan should work together to deepen the RCEP framework, promote the efficient implementation of RCEP, build a mutually beneficial and complementary economic cooperation network between China and Japan, and accelerate the deep integration of China Japan electronic information industry chain, so as to promote the sound cycle and high-quality development of the electronic information industry of the two countries.
Third, return to the origin of the market and respect the laws of the market. The electronic information industry cooperation between China and Japan should follow the market rules, constantly enhance political mutual trust, strengthen high-level dialogue, jointly create and optimize the ecological environment for in-depth cooperation in the electronic information industry between China and Japan from the institutional and mechanism level, give full play to the role of "ballast" and "propeller" in China Japan economic and trade cooperation, and view each other's industrial development as an opportunity rather than a challenge, so as to jointly promote in-depth cooperation and mutual benefit and win-win results in the electronic information industry.