In Minsk, Belarus, the Chinese automaker Geely has almost completed construction of a car plant, which will bring the Eastern European nation one step closer to its dream of a domestic auto industry.

The projects are of great importance to the Belarusian government's development plans, which China is looking to bolster, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative.

First-phase construction of the development will end this month, so the number of workers has fallen from 600 to 400. In accordance with city government regulations, about 30 percent of the laborers are local hires.

Workers from the two countries have different cultures, languages and even dietary habits, but everyone has cooperated harmoniously.

Qiu Haixiang arrived at the industrial park in spring last year as part of a team of 100 Chinese workers. He plans to stay until the latter part of this year.

"Working overseas is not as difficult as I'd imagined because the company takes care of everything," said the 34-year-old from Changzhou, Jiangsu province. "All we do here is work, but salaries are higher than in China."

Geely's initial investment in Belarus marked a milestone when the company opened the country's first auto parts plant in Minsk in 2011.

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