The celebration of the 100th anniversary of Panasonic was held in Beijing on May 28, 2018. CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin attended and addressed the event as a special guest.

Mme. Li Xiaolin congratulated Panasonic on the 100th anniversary of its founding and said that on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up and the 40th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese Peace and Friendship Treaty, the Chinese people will not forget that Panasonic was one of the first major Japanese companies to participate in China’s reform and opening up, and made valuable contributions to China’s modernization and China-Japan economic and trade cooperation. In the meanwhile, the company is actively committed to the cause of China-Japan friendship. Through the establishment of the Panasonic Education Fund and the Panasonic Scholarship, it has carried out a large number of public benefit activities in cooperation with the CPAFFC, the China-Japan Friendship Association and other Chinese institutions and local governments, making active efforts to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples and maintain the sound and stable development of China-Japan relations.

Mme. Li Xiaolin said that at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018, President Xi Jinping declared to the world China’s firm determination to further expand its opening up, which means huge opportunities for all countries including Japan. We sincerely hope that Panasonic will seize China's development opportunities on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, continue to push forward the bilateral economic and trade cooperation and make new contributions to the steady and long-term development of China-Japan relations.

In his speech, President of Panasonic Tsuga Kazuhiro expressed appreciation for China’s long-term support for Panasonic and said that this year marks the 100th anniversary of Panasonic’s founding and the 40th anniversary of its business in China. Panasonic cannot make such achievements without the historical opportunity brought by China’s reform and opening up. In the next 100 years, Panasonic will continue to take on its social responsibility, stick to China-Japan cooperation, and join hands with China to contribute to the prosperity of Asia and the world.

During the celebration, Panasonic donated another 3 million yuan to the Panasonic Education Fund through the CPAFFC, so as to continue its support for the training of Chinese young talents. Mme. Li Xiaolin and Mr. Tsuga Kazuhiro attended the donation ceremony. In 1995, then President of Panasonic Matsushita Masaharu donated 1 million U.S. dollars to the CPAFFC and founded the Panasonic Education Fund, to support China’s university students who are academically talented but have financial difficulties to complete their studies. So far, the fund has awarded scholarships worth over 10 million yuan to 9421 students of 39 universities in 22 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China.

Photographed by Wang Lei