Belgian Vice Premier Kris Peeters witnessed the loading of a luxury Volvo sedan onto a container in Heilongjiang province – the start of China-made cars being exported to fulfill Western European demand. Volvo Car Group plans to ship the new Volvo S90, manufactured at its Daqing plant, to Ghent by train, linking the Eastern and Western ends of the Silk Road Economic Belt. “By visiting Volvo’s Daqing plant before attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, I want to gain an intuitive understanding of achievements brought by the Belt and Road Initiative. This plant has been operating very successfully,” Vice Premier Peeters said. During this visit, Peeters focused on Volvo’s industry-leading manufacturing systems, such as the Scalable Product Architecture platform (SPA). Hao Huilong, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang said: “This is a perfect example of shared growth and cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.” The company’s exports will rely on the China Railway Express, taking 44 days fewer than by sea, allowing the plant to respond quickly to European market needs. The train link will not just save shipping costs, but more importantly drive collaborative development based on local advantages in both Daqing and Ghent, allowing Volvo to achieve rapid growth both in Asia and Europe. “The all-new Volvo S90 luxury sedan produced at the Daqing plant has officially been exported to the United States since April,” said Yuan Xiaolin, Senior Vice President of Volvo Car Group and President & CEO of Volvo Car Asia Pacific. “China-made vehicles are now able to compete in the global markets to serve consumers worldwide,” he added, as reported by the China Daily.