Mayor of Nantong Wu Xinming (R) meets with Shuichi Akamatsu, consul general of Japan in Shanghai, in Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Wu Xinming, mayor of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province, recently met with Shuichi Akamatsu, consul general of Japan in Shanghai, in Nantong.

After giving a brief introduction to Nantong's economic and social development, Wu noted that with the further advancement of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region and other national strategies, Nantong boasts more prominent advantages in terms of transportation, resources, and costs.

The mayor added that Nantong is stepping up efforts to become an important driver of the high-quality development of Jiangsu.

He expressed hope that Akamatsu and the Japanese consulate general in Shanghai will make full use of their influence to recommend Nantong to Japanese companies and bring more Japanese companies and industrial projects to the city.

Wu also expects to carry out exchanges with Japan in trade, culture and education through international sister cities so as to make Nantong a new hub for Japanese-invested enterprises and a new model for friendly cooperation between China and Japan.

Akamatsu thanked Nantong for its support for Japanese-funded businesses and Japanese people. He said that the Japanese consulate general in Shanghai will help more Japanese companies invest in Nantong.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of sister-city relations between Nantong and Izumi, a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

As of the end of 2022, Nantong was home to 1,418 Japanese companies and Japanese-invested projects. Last year, the city saw a 10 percent year-on-year increase in trade with Japan to 35.56 billion yuan ($5.16 billion).