Chinese car helps fulfill Belarusian 'dream'

Geely Holding Group president An Conghui (front, R) introduces a newly-released car model to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (front, L) in Belarus. [Photo: China Plus]

A car assembly factory has been launched as part of a joint venture between Chinese automaker Geely and Belarus.

The launch ceremony also saw the release of the venture's first mass-production model, marking the start of the European country's vehicle industry.

CRI's Guan Chao has more.

It has been one of President Alexander Lukashenko's dreams for many years to have cars made in Belarus.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, the Belarusian President said the BelGee project has helped make his dream come true.

"Many thanks to the decision of my closest friend Chinese President Xi Jinping. On behalf of BelGee staff, the Belarusian government and people, I extend our thanks for President Xi's help. We thank him for his response to my request."

Previously, Lukashenko personally sent a request to President Xi to encourage Chinese automakers to establish plants in Belarus.

Geely President An Conghui said that based on thorough investigations of China's vehicle industry, Belarus believes Geely is an integral part of the global vehicle industry.

He added that this was also part of Geely's strategy of going global.

"This cooperation crossed borders as well as the boundaries between entities and cultures. We built the factory from scratch; we designed the project and conducted research and development on products; the transition from test production to official release also ran smoothly. All of this was completed within two and a half years. It is a miracle. The Belt and Road Initiative is a guarantee to our success."

The joint venture brought Chinese capital and equipment to Belarus as well as training opportunities.

According to Maria Ignatovich from the BelGee human resources department, many local people have applied for their positions, attracted by the training opportunities at the Chinese headquarters.

"This is the first car company in Belarus. We have no firsthand experience in running such a company. So we have provided more training opportunities for our staff to help them learn more advanced techniques and earn higher incomes. This is why young people have shown great interest in our job offers."

Established in 1986, Geely entered the international market after purchasing Volvo's car business in 2010.

Its new factory near the Belarusian capital Minsk is expected to be able to deliver 60,000 vehicles every year.

For CRI, I'm Guan Chao.