Panasonic commits to expanding presence in China

Japanese tech company Panasonic Holdings Corp will accelerate steps to expand its presence in China, with a key focus on healthy and intelligent living space, new electric vehicle components, and intelligent manufacturing, said a top executive of the company.

Yuki Kusumi, representative director and president of Panasonic, said China is one of the most important overseas markets for Panasonic, while highlighting that the company will continue to increase investment in the world's second-largest economy. He made the remarks at the ongoing sixth China International Import Expo.

Panasonic has invested in 14 projects in the Chinese market between 2019 and 2022, and decided to build three new factories since 2023, said Tetsuro Homma, executive vice-president of the company.

Homma, as the head of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, said more than half of the interviewed Japanese companies operating in China said they "will not slash their investments in China" or "will further increase investments in China". About 1,200 Japanese companies across China participated in the latest survey.

Japanese companies should regard China as an "innovative power" and "engineering power" rather than merely a big "manufacturing country" or "consumer country," he added.

Panasonic's business in China has reached 120 billion yuan ($16.5 billion) in the fiscal year of 2022, accounting for 27 percent of its global business scale.

Apart from vehicle-mounted batteries, Panasonic provides 35 kinds of auto parts. Currently, Panasonic has six research and development bases and 18 manufacturing sites for vehicle components in China.

The Japanese company has also built the hydrogen-powered fuel cells and a comprehensive energy utilization project at its plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, which is also the first of its kind in China.