Recently, Xue Kan, Secretary of the CPC Yangpu District Committee, held talks with José Roberto, Deputy Consul General of Brazil in Shanghai and Masahiko Suga, Chairman of Shanghai Japanese Commerce & Industry Club (SJCIC) on strengthening friendly cooperation. Shi Fang, Deputy Head of Yangpu District, was present.

Xue expressed his gratitude to José Roberto and Masahiko Suga for their positive contributions to the promotion of Yangpu's friendly exchanges and cooperation with Brazil and Japan, and introduced the economic and social development, as well as the foreign cooperation and exchanges of Yangpu. With four century-old legacies, Yangpu has pursued innovation-driven development over the years so as to transform from an industrial district into a knowledge-based and innovative district, he said. It is one of the areas with the highest innovation concentration and highest talent density in Shanghai.

Xue noted that Yangpu was earnestly implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches during his visit to Shanghai, as well as the requirements of the plans worked out by the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, and endeavoring to promote the new practice of the people's city, take Yangpu on a new journey of innovative development and rejuvenate the strength of Yangpu. Deepening high-standard opening-up and strengthening international cooperation and exchanges is an important task. The Consulate General of Brazil in Shanghai, Apex-Brasil, SJCIC and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance have made diligent efforts to deepen Yangpu's exchanges and cooperation with Brazil and Japan, he said hoping that the two sides would deepen and broaden cooperation in economic and trade contacts, investment promotion, technological innovation, cultural exchanges, etc. Yangpu will spare no efforts to create a top business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized, to promote the better and greater development of foreign-funded enterprises from Brazil, Japan and other countries in Yangpu.

The Consulate General of Brazil in Shanghai and Apex-Brasil have maintained close cooperation with Yangpu. The Brazil Innovation Centre was inaugurated in 2021, and China-Brazil Innovation Week that has been held for three consecutive years has become the technological innovation cooperation project of Brazil in China. José Roberto introduced the efforts of the Brazil Innovation Centre, saying that Brazil had maintained good cooperative relations with Yangpu over the years. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Brazil, he expected Apex-Brasil to further deepen cooperation with Yangpu, in a joint bid to build a Brazilian center for all-round strategic cooperation, and to open a new page for win-win cooperation.

Founded in 1982, with more than 2,300 members, SJCIC is Japan's largest chamber of commerce abroad. Masahiko Suga is Chairman of SJCIC, as well as Managing Director of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (China) Co., Ltd. There is a solid foundation for cooperation between Yangpu and Japan, and Yangpu has a grand concentration of leading digital economy enterprises, he said, hoping that the two sides would work together to further promote the friendly exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between Yangpu and Japan, and to explore the digital transformation of finance empowered by technology, as well as digital innovation in financial and insurance service areas.