The universal rolling mill at the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, a collaborative project of China, Russia and Italy, was launched on July 16, which marked the Metallurgist Day in Russia and the 70th anniversary of the plant’s founding.

Chelyabinsk Oblast is a major producer of minerals in Russia. Its huge reserves of more than 300 minerals including iron, copper and gold lay the groundwork for the development of metallurgical and heavy industries. The region manufactured the famous T-34 tanks and M-13 Katyusha rockets during World War II. In 2008, the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant was tasked with producing 100-meter rails for Russia’s high-speed rail system. The plant, whose equipment was outdated, turned to Chinese and Italian companies for collaboration in building the production line.

Fang Yin, the project’s Chief Engineer from the China Minmetals Corp., told People’s Daily at the inauguration ceremony that China has sent 46,000 cubic meters of materials to Chelyabinsk since construction began in 2010. Apart from helping renovate old buildings, Minmetals constructed nearly 50,000 square meters of new buildings, installed 20,000 tons of equipment, cast 210,000 cubic meters of concrete for the plant. Several sub-projects set new records for Chinese construction programs in Russia. Minmetals President Zhou Zhongshu said there were great difficulties in implementing the China-Russia-Italy joint project because the parties had to adapt to one another in terms of construction standards, languages and cultures. In his view, a company must have a global vision to penetrate overseas markets.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at the ceremony that the project not only helped upgrade the technology of the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant but also contributed to improving local residents’ living standards. Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui said the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant and Minmetals are world-renowned conglomerates in the two countries. The new production line, which demonstrates the success of China and Russia in working together on hi-tech projects with high value added, is bound to play an exemplary role in cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies.

It is a key project in which core technology from China was adopted to transform a Russian business, a new model of cooperation that marks a breakthrough in bilateral practical cooperation, Li said. Many Chinese companies are willing to take part in the overhaul of Russian enterprises. Li said he believes Chinese companies will create more success stories based on Minmetals’ experience in the future to further substantiate the China-Russia “comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.”

The ceremony reached a climax when Medvedev pressed a button to launch the new state-of-the-art rail production line. Accompanied by the plant’s director, the Russian prime minister visited the renovated mill. He nodded with a smile when seeing sparks caused by clashes between equipment in operation and rails--sparks of inspiration that encourage Chinese and Russian partners to achieve greater success in their future cooperation.