China's stagnating rust belt hit by exits of global companies

Orix, Panasonic and others sell off operations in economically weak northeast

20221023N Panasonic plant

Production stopped in May at this Panasonic group battery plant in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. (Photo by Shin Watanabe)

SHIN WATANABE, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- A particularly deep and prolonged economic slowdown in northeastern China is driving multinational companies from Japan and elsewhere to curtail their presence in the rust belt region.

An unfinished skyscraper looming over the seaside in the port city of Dalian is emblematic of the retreat. Construction has stopped on the building, part of a two-tower complex that is Japanese developer Orix's first building project in China. Orix has sold the unfinished building, and one of its affiliates will be among multiple owners of the other.

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