Volvo plant shows Xi 300,000th car to China_美文

Volvo plant shows Xi 300,000th car to China

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President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan joined King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium on Tuesday for a visit to the Volvo Car Group facilities in Ghent, a city in northwest Belgium.

During their visit to the plant, the two couples were treated to a show of highlights from the Volvo product range: from the first-ever Volvo car, the V4 "Jakob", to current models and technologies like a Volvo plug-in hybrid and Ghent-produced models including one with a pedestrian airbag.

In an exclusive interview with China Daily, Michael Ning, vice-president of Volvo Cars China, who also was present, said a red Volvo car model was presented as a gift to each of the couples.

"We are very excited about Xi's visit and have been discussing how to receive him and his wife, Peng Liyuan, as well as the king and queen. The president witnessed the marking of Volvo's 5.5 millionth production in Ghent, and it also was the 300,000th car by Volvo for the China market," Ning said.

Volvo is a good showcase for China's cooperation with Europe, Ning said. It is a Swedish brand,a Chinese-owned company and has its presence in Belgium, he added.

According to the company, Volvo Cars is the third-largest industrial company in Belgium and employs about 5,000 people. The Ghent factory is Volvo's largest plant in Europe.

"We hope the president will feel at home," Ning said. "Our president will see all the three elements (Swedish, Chinese and Belgian) together making Volvo one of the known luxury car brands around the world."