On the afternoon of April 16, Cai Qi, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee met via video link with Yoshiki Takada, president of SMC Corporation of Japan.

Cai Qi expressed his appreciation and gratitude to SMC for its contribution to China and international cooperation against the epidemic and said that Beijing is currently focusing on the building of national comprehensive demonstration zone for further opening-up in the service sector and the Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone, and is firmly promoting its opening-up to the outside world at a higher level. We hope that SMC can seize the opportunity brought by the "two zones" to continue to expand its investment and business presence in Beijing, to achieve greater development with its root in Beijing; to strengthen its R&D and production support capabilities, to actively participate in and support the development of intelligent manufacture in Beijing, to expand its industrial layout in Beijing and even Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development region, to build more benchmark enterprises, and contribute to the "smart manufacturing" in Beijing, to jointly build a China-Japan Industrial Automation Industrial Park with Beijing, to play a leading role to other enterprises, to guide and drive more upstream and downstream high-quality enterprises to enter the park, and then to form an cluster effect as soon as possible. The related departments of Beijing and Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area will fully support SMC by creating a favorable environment for SMC so as to achieve better development in Beijing, and providing convenience for the employees to work and live in Beijing.

Yoshiki Takada thanked Beijing for its strong support of the development of SMC enterprises in Beijing and said that he would make full use of Beijing's advantages in science and technology, talents, and markets; actively expand cooperation with Beijing in ecological and environmental protection, medical and health care; modern agriculture and other areas, increase the investment in Beijing; and continue to deepen its roots in Beijing for development.

Other municipal leaders attending the meeting included Cui Shuqiang, Yin Yong and Zhang Jiaming.

(Article by Qi Mengzhu & Fan Junsheng  Photo by Zhang Lizhao)