German automaker DaimlerChrysler AG has clinched joint venture deals with three Chinese partners Friday to produce Mercedes-Benz cars and vans in China.

The deals were signed during a visit by Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan to a DaimlerChrysler plant in Bremen City, northern Germany.

Under one of the high-profile agreements, DaimlerChrysler will build Mercedes-Benz E and C-Class sedans in a new facility in Beijing with long-time partner Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC).

The facility was designed to produce up to 25,000 units a year in short-medium plans and the vehicles were expected to begin rolling off the line in mid-2005, DaimlerChrysler said.

The company will also manufacture Sprinter and Viano/Vito vans at a new facility in Fuzhou City with Fujian Motor Industry Group and China Motor Corp.

The facility, with a designed annual capacity of 40,000 units, is expected to start operating by 2006.

"This important step strengthens the excellent relationship with our Chinese partners and provides DaimlerChrysler with a broader and more focused presence in Asia's most important growth market," Ruediger Grube, the DaimlerChrysler board member responsible for China, said in a statement.

Both contacts were valid until 2034, DaimlerChrysler said.

It was investing 1.2 billion euros (US$1.57 billion) in China for its ongoing and future projects to realize Mercedes-Benz passenger car and van production, the German automaker said.

It will also employ about 15,000 people in China through the joint ventures.

(Shenzhen Daily November 29, 2004)