Saegusa arrived Sunday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. He will attend an industrial and commercial summit on the sideline of the leaders' meeting Tuesday.
Nine of 10 Ito-Yokato stores in China are situated in Chengdu's downtown and surrounding area.
Ito-Yokato entered the Chinese market in 1996. Saegusa, 47 years old then, was sent to China to prepare for the opening of the company's first store in Chengdu.
Saegusa, 70 now, said he had witnessed the urbanization of Chengdu during his 20 years of experience working in the city.
He said Ito-YoKado department stores impressed Chinese consumers with considerable services including free shuttle buses, free drinking water and packaging.
In 2018, the company's sales revenue in Chengdu totaled 5.5 billion yuan (about 784 million U.S. dollars), up 8 percent year on year, with 30 million customer visits.
Saegusa was awarded Chengdu's "honorable citizen" in 2014 for his contribution to the city's service sector.
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