Shenzhen Week Opens at Expo 2025 Osaka, Alongside Shenzhen–Osaka Innovation Conference

Overview

On May 12, 2025, Shenzhen Week opened at the China Pavilion of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, held on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka. Running under the theme "Open Shenzhen, Create the Future," the week lasted until May 14. According to the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Shenzhen was the only prefecture-level city among the provincial-level activity weeks hosted at the China Pavilion. More than 100 government and business representatives from China and Japan attended the opening ceremony, where speakers included Shenzhen Vice Mayor Luo Huanghao, Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian, Nagano Hikaru of the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, and Wada Aya, Director General of the Osaka City Economic Strategy Bureau.

That afternoon, the Shenzhen–Osaka Innovation Cooperation Conference was held at the Imperial Hotel Osaka. Hosted by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government and organized by the Shenzhen Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the city's culture, tourism and sports bureau, it brought together about 150 representatives of government agencies, business associations, research institutions and companies from both cities. Five cooperation agreements were reportedly signed on site.

Background

Shenzhen grew as China's window for reform and opening-up, and Japan was among the earliest countries to invest in the city. Many Japanese companies still operate there today. According to Shenzhen's figures, the city's exports to Japan in 2024 were about US$26.4 billion, up 16.4% year on year. Japanese investment in Shenzhen exceeds US$3.8 billion, while Shenzhen's investment in Japan stands at US$430 million.

At the opening ceremony, Director General Wada described Shenzhen as the world's largest electronics manufacturing cluster and expressed hope that business exchanges between companies in the two cities would deepen, including in healthcare. The event was positioned as an opportunity to advance "twin-city cooperation" between Osaka and Shenzhen on the international stage of the Expo.

Key Points

• "A Day in a Future Shenzhen Community" exhibition: More than 60 Shenzhen companies presented achievements in green energy, smart living and smart healthcare across three everyday scenarios: a morning smart home, an afternoon smart park, and an evening AI mall.
• Examples of exhibitors: Honor smart devices, BGI genetic testing, Sunwoda portable energy storage, SenseTime's AI chess robot, Pudu's delivery robot, and UBTech's portable humanoid robot.
• Technology at the pavilion: Nagano praised Shenzhen's technological strength, citing the circular LED screen of about nine meters in diameter built by Shenzhen-based Unilumin.
• A Japanese company's perspective: Ogawa Riko, a director of Panasonic Holdings, noted that Panasonic set up its China projector business headquarters in Shenzhen in 2025.
• Shenzhen research in Japan: Gu Xuxu, head of the Honor Japan Research Institute, said Honor draws on Japan's strengths in imaging and consumer electronics to develop competitive products, illustrating how Shenzhen companies make use of Japanese research and development resources.
• Business exchange: At the conference, Shenzhen companies such as Tencent, BYD, Honor and UBTech and Japanese companies including ITOCHU made presentations and reached several intentions to cooperate in fields such as intelligent equipment and biomedicine.
• Culture: The program also featured excerpts from the Shenzhen-produced dance drama "Wing Chun" and a fashion show using Gambiered Guangdong gauze, a national intangible cultural heritage of the Lingnan region.

Implications for Japan–Shenzhen Exchange

Shenzhen Week introduced fields where Shenzhen is strong, including robotics, AI, energy storage and healthcare, directly to Japanese officials and business people. For Japanese companies, it appears to have offered a chance to explore links with Shenzhen's manufacturing and technology ecosystem, while for Shenzhen companies it was an opportunity to raise their profile in the Japanese market. Cases such as Panasonic's Shenzhen-based business headquarters were also highlighted, drawing attention to two-way investment and cooperation. Given Osaka's stated interest in healthcare exchanges, life sciences may also become a topic for cooperation alongside manufacturing.

Outlook

Published materials do not detail the parties to, or the content of, the five agreements. How each agreement will translate into concrete projects, and what framework will sustain city-to-city cooperation between Osaka and Shenzhen, remain to be seen.

From the Association

The Association will continue to follow exchanges between Shenzhen and cities across Japan. Together with our members, we will keep working to provide opportunities for companies and organizations in Shenzhen and Japan to get to know and connect with one another.