Canon to shift focus, vows more investment in China

"We are hugely optimistic and confident in China's future potential and will continue to invest here, creating new jobs for the people of China and providing an increasing array of products and services to meet their needs," he added.

Canon has been seeking new business growth points. It announced in September it completed the acquisition of Canadian semiconductor manufacturer Redlen Technologies. In 2016, it bought Toshiba Corp's medical equipment unit for nearly $6 billion to enter the high-margin medical devices sector.

Zhang Jianfeng, deputy secretary-general of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, said Canon's imaging business mainly concentrates on digital cameras and webcams, and it has ceased low-end activities business to reduce costs. The company intends to switch its camera production lines to Southeast Asia, he said.

Japan's Camera & Imaging Products Association said global shipments of digital cameras will reach 7.85 million units in 2022, down 6.1 percent on a yearly basis, and the shortage of semiconductors and other components will continue to affect camera production this year.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, which has been in effect since Jan 1, has created the world's largest free trade bloc. It reduced tariffs and prices of commodities, which is conducive to improving the sales of products and pushing up the market share of the company in China, Ozawa added.

"The entry into force of the RCEP agreement is inspiring to many countries and we are no exception," he stated. The RCEP agreement, which was signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries in November 2020, has formed direct free trade relations between China and Japan for the first time.

It covers a market of 2.2 billion people, or almost 30 percent of the world's population, with a combined GDP of $26.2 trillion or about 30 percent of global GDP, accounting for nearly 28 percent of global trade.

Liang Zhenpeng, a consumer electronics analyst, said mid-range and low-end digital cameras could be fully replaced by smartphones, so it was an inevitable trend that the camera market was shrinking and traditional camera makers would seek new growth points, expand product chains and move toward diversified portfolios.