BMW Brilliance Automotive, the German automaker's Chinese joint venture, will open a third plant in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province soon, making the company the first beneficiary after China eased foreign ownership limits in the auto industry, according to a statement on the website of the State Council, the country's cabinet, on Wednesday.
The decision was announced after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with BMW Chief Executive Harald Kruger on Wednesday morning.
"The [new factory] shows that China is not merely talking about new measures of opening-up, but is also implementing them," Li was quoted as saying in the statement. He also noted that the project is of significance not only in the perspective of China-Germany auto industry cooperation but also in terms of China's cooperation with foreign capital.
Li said that China welcomes foreign companies, including German enterprises, to seize opportunities and bolster investment in China so as to achieve a win-win situation, the Xinhua News Agency reported. "China will open up wider and at a higher level in the next step, and the country will continue to be a long-term destination for foreign investment."
Kruger also said the company has prioritized its Chinese strategy. He stressed that China is not only a huge market but also a world-level production base, and the automaker will ship its models produced in China to other markets in the world, according to the statement.
The move also comes at a time when China's trade tensions with the US are escalating, with some analysts predicting that some manufacturers would shift production lines out of China to ward off risks.
In July, BMW signed a strategic cooperation agreement with its Chinese partner Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings to expand joint venture in China during the fifth round of China-Germany inter-governmental consultation.
