JINAN -- Weichai Power, a leading Chinese automobile and equipment manufacturing firm, has closed a strategic collaboration deal with Ballard Power Systems, a Canadian provider of clean energy products.

Weichai, which is listed in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen, has purchased 19.9 percent of Ballard's shares, becoming the largest shareholder of the Canadian company.

Under the deal, Weichai and Ballard will establish a joint venture in China's Shandong province, which will manufacture Ballard's next-generation LCS fuel-cell stack and LCS-based power modules for bus, commercial truck and forklift applications.

Weichai also intends to build and supply at least 2,000 fuel cell modules by 2021 for commercial vehicles using Ballard technology, according to the deal.

In 2017, Weichai reported sales of more than 150 billion yuan ($23.5 billion), producing more than 600,000 engines, 830,000 transmissions, 150,000 heavy duty trucks and 200,000 forklift trucks.

In its 2020-2030 strategy, Weichai has planned to invest 50 billion yuan in forming a complete new-energy industrial chain, including batteries, electric engines, power-trains and complete vehicles.