“I first came to China in 1990s, and have witnessed the startling progress the country has made since then. I’m looking forward to further cooperating with Chinese counterparts and offering high-quality services to people from both sides,” said Sato Yasuyuki, board member of Japan Airlines and general representative of Japan Airlines (China), in a recent interview with GDToday in Guangzhou.

Yasuyuki told GDToday that Japanese products and services have long been popular in China, which creates opportunities for cross-border e-commerce and logistics. “Japan Airlines has also started business in these areas,” he said.

In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel, Japan Airlines launched its cross-border e-commerce business in January, 2022, where it sells Japanese specialties to Chinese customers through a WeChat Mini Program, such as food and drink, handicrafts, and skin care products.

Now flights between China and Japan are rebounding, as China has changed its COVID-19 management measures. “The summer-autumn flight season started on March 26. Since then, Japan Airlines have increased the number of flights between Beijing and Japan from one flight every week to two flights per day. We have also scheduled a daily flight from Guangzhou to Japan,” Yasuyuki said.

According to the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, between January 8 and March 8, the airport had a total of 530,000 people entering and leaving the country, with a daily average of nearly 9,000 people.

“Many people in China have told us that they want to visit Japan, and we also plan to promote tourist attractions in China, especially in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to Japanese tourists. We hope to help Japanese people learn more about the charm of the region,” Yasuyuki noted.

Reporter | Lydia Liu

Video | Qin Shaolong, Nina

Video script | Lydia Liu, Kaikei, Monica

Editor | Wing, Steven, Jasmine, Jerry