Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Rumas attends ceremony marking the opening of the MAZ-Weichai engine factory on Oct 13. [Photo/weichai-news]

The MAZ-Weichai engine factory officially began production on Oct 13, marking yet another accomplishment for the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Rumas attended the delivery ceremony and said that the joint venture project has attracted much attention and will play an important role in enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

The MAZ-Weichai engine factory was a flagship project of the China-Belarus industrial park in Minsk, capital of Belarus in central Europe.   

It was jointly established by the Belarusian automotive engineering company MAZ and Weichai Group in September 2017 and has an expected annual production of 20,000 units.

"By setting up a plant in Belarus, the company is able to access the Eurasian Economic Union market and deepen cooperation between China and Eurasian countries," said Tan Xu Guan, chairman of Weichai Group.

The products made by MAZ-Weichai meet the Euro V and Euro VI emission standards and will be used in trucks, cars, engineering machinery and agricultural equipment.

In the future, the products may be introduced to Russia, Ukraine and other European countries. The factory is expected to strengthen cooperation between countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

MAZ-Weichai factory unveils its 1,000th engine product, marking the official start of production. [Photo/weichai-news]