The University of Kitakyushu
   Center for Chinese Business Studies　

New Year Special Seminar 2025

The Center for Chinese Business Studies was established on 1 August 2014 and has now been in existence for ten years. With the aim of contributing to the promotion of academic exchange and the development of international human resources, the Center has worked to build a wide exchange network with business education and research institutions in Greater China and other East Asian regions, while also focusing on the strengthening of inter-regional exchange relations.

The New Year Special Seminar 2025 was a commemorative event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Center’s establishment. It was successfully held on Saturday, 15 March, 2025 at the Frankie Wu Asia International Exchange Hall under the theme ‘Management Internationalisation and the Sustainable Development of East Asian Regional Enterprises’, and with the support of the Kitakyushu Convention ＆ Visitors Association.

The seminar began with an address by President Masato YANAI which was followed by a results report titled ‘An International Comparative Study of Long-lived Enterprises’ and a discussion titled ‘The Relationship between East Asian Business Development and Culture’. Japanese/Chinese consecutive interpretation was offered throughout. The sessions were chaired by Rika NOGUCHI, a graduate of the 16^th graduating class of the university’s Graduate School of Business Administration.

The first session was moderated by Xiaoping WANG, Director of the Center for Chinese Business Studies. Dr. Wang reviewed the significance of the international comparative study into long-lived enterprises, discussed the results of the project, and then led individual presentations by experts on the common theme of ‘Secrets of Sustainable Development in Long-lived Enterprises’. Co-researcher Taiyan HUANG (Director of the Research Center of China’s Private Enterprises at Renmin University of China and Director of China Institute for Vitalizing Border Areas and Enriching the People, Minzu University of China) introduced official Chinese Ministry of Commerce survey data, outlined the results of case studies focused on the innovation and development of three long-lived Chinese companies, and identified and explained a need for systematic excavation research in China. Motoko TSUJITA (Professor, Faculty of Economics, Ryukoku University), a leading researcher on long-lived companies in Kyoto, outlined the actual context of long-lived companies in Japan based on TDB survey reports and shared the results of a survey of Kyoto’s long-lived companies made in collaboration with the Kyoto Long-lived Companies Association. Professor TSUJITA referred to two long-lived company case studies when exploring the perspectives of family, culture and region. The discussion explored the factors behind company longevity. Mr Ping WANG (Vice President of China Review (Hong Kong) and Senior Research Fellow of China Review Think Tank Foundation), using detailed historical data, discussed why, despite Hong Kong’s long history of commercial development under British colonial rule following the Opium Wars, and its globally renowned status as a free economy, the region is home to many old-style multimillionaires, but relatively few long-lasting enterprises. Finally, Yasushi MATSUNAGA, Director and General Manager of Sales Division at the long-established Kitakyushu-based company Shabondama Soap Co., Ltd., used extensive video footage to introduce his company’s corporate philosophy of ‘promoting healthy bodies and clean water’ through the production of safe and secure products and a wide range of social contribution activities.

The second session was moderated by Masahiro ITO, Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Tokyo Office and part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Business Administration, UKK. Mr. ITO raised the importance of cross-cultural and multicultural understanding and, through reference to personal, practical experience, discussed the possibility of using East Asian business development schemes with overseas Chinese companies as partners. Professor Hong LIU (Associate Vice President and Director (Research & Executive Education), Nanyang Centre for Public Administration, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) spoke on the theme of ‘Transnational Networks, Chinese Culture and Governance Strategies: Localization Practices of Singapore Chinese Enterprises’. Drawing on the theory of immigration transnationalism, Professor Liu Hong  proposed the concept of “commercial transnationalism” and asked whether, rather than looking at things from the perspective of a binary opposition between East and West, attention should be focused on creative integration and the revitalization of Western business models. Professor Hao-Ling YUAN, EMBA Program, College of Management, National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan, (President of the Chinese-Taiwan Business Research Association) examined the impact of cultural differences on corporate management, decision-making and communication models, and analysed cross-cultural adaptation strategies in the global expansion of Taiwanese companies from both theoretical and practical perspectives.  Under the title ‘Direct investment in Thailand by Japanese companies  – opportunities and challenges’, Wichai Kinchong CHOI (Senior Vice President, Head of International Business Division, Kasikornbank, Kingdom of Thailand) offered analysis of foreign investment in Thailand, particularly the characteristics of Japanese capital investment distribution and the opportunities and risks (challenges) associated with changes in Thailand’s foreign investment policy and investment environment, while making constructive recommendations. Lastly, Mr Hiroyumi TANAKA (Representative Director of Ryowa Co., Ltd. and former President of the Business Administration Studies Association, an alumni organisation of Graduate School of Business Administration, UKK), as a representative of a local company that has been in business for over 50 years, spoke about rebuilding a sustainable development strategy that continuously seeks synergies between tradition and innovation, and focused specifically on proactive overseas business expansion, DX selection, and the appointment of external human resources.

The final plenary discussion lasted for about 40 minutes. Panellists from both sessions reconfirmed their arguments and views as seminar participants asked numerous questions and offered meaningful comments. Despite the bad weather the seminar was attended by a large number of participants and the day memorably marked the 10th anniversary of the Center’s establishment.