China Exclusive: Chinese automaker expands presence in Middle East

Mirza Sadegh and a dozen of his fellow Iranians are attending a 25-day training course at the headquarters of China's leading car producer, Chery Automobile, in Wuhu City, Anhui Province.

The training is expected to give Chery's Iranian employees a better understanding of the company's production flow, development goals, corporate culture and Chinese cultural ideology.

"Every day here is precious. I am going to take what I learn from here back home and make Iran-made Chery cars even better than China-made ones," said Sadegh from Modiran Vehicle Manufacturing (MVM), a Chery-controlled firm in Kerman in southern Iran.

Through MVM, Chery became China's first automaker to invest in Iran in 2004, which now has a production capacity of 60,000 units a year.

MVM employs more than 2,500 local staff to produce some of Chery's most popular models.

"The trip makes us feel the power of the parent company and also the hospitality of the Chinese people. They respect us in every aspect -- our customs and dietary traditions," said Sadegh.

When the training ends at the end of the month, Sadegh and his colleges will go back home to help reach MVM's goal of expanding annual production capacity to 160,000 units within the next three years.

Chery's chair and general manager Yin Tongyue signed the agreement to expand MVM on Friday, according to Chery.

MVM sold about 40,000 cars in Iran last year, making Chery the top-selling foreign car brand in the market. There are about 180,000 Chery cars on the road in Iran. ( President Xi Jinping said during his Middle East tour that China will support industrialization in the region.

Chery, the first Chinese automaker to produce five million passenger cars, is among the Chinese manufacturing firms to contribute to that endeavor.

Asmaa Abdou Galal is a marketing manager in Chery's Egyptian branch. She told Xinhua through e-mail that Chery has sold more than 80,000 cars in Egypt since it entered the market a decade ago.

"I am promoting a new Chery model that takes Egypt's road conditions into consideration by adding high-quality shock absorbers," she said, adding that the design was based on Egyptian customers' feedback.

She said Egypt doesn't have its own car brands, but her country needs industry.

She said the auto industry involves a big production chain. In addition to manufacturing, it requires component providers, sales people and after-sales service. Chery offers a lot of employment opportunities for Egypt.

"With the participation of Chinese firms, including Chery, Huawei and ZTE, it will be easier for Egypt to develop its own industries," said the 28-year-old, who studied at Peking University before joining the Chery branch in 2011. Endi