By Kate Yuan

The Japanese technology giant Panasonic will significantly increase its investment in China, resisting the growth trend of foreign companies reducing investment in China as geopolitical tensions intensify and the domestic economy slows down, Bloomberg reported on January 6.

Panasonic will invest more than 50 billion yen ($373 million) in China by the end of 2024 to build and expand factories, with eye on post-COVID growth, Nikkei said. A Panasonic spokeswoman confirmed the investment increase to Bloomberg but the amount is unclear.

China is Japan's largest trading partner and an important market for Japanese companies, said Bloomberg. However, since the pandemic outbreak in 2020, the Japanese government has encouraged a reduction in reliance on Chinese production and supply chains. Rising geographical tensions are affecting corporate investment and business decisions.

In addition, Japan is negotiating with the US to determine whether to impose further restrictions on the export of equipment for making computer chips. People familiar with the talks said Japan had agreed in principle to adopt at least some of the controls imposed by the US.