XI'AN - Samsung Electronics Co signed agreement Wednesday with the government of northwest China's Shaanxi province to expand its chip production capacity there.

Samsung will inject an initial investment of $7 billion into the second phase of its chip plant in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, which will primarily produce advanced flash memory chips.

The first phase of the plant at the Xi'an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone went into operation in May 2014, with a total investment of $10 billion.

The opening of Samsung's semiconductor project has attracted more than 100 supporting companies to the zone, and its expanded capacity is expected to strengthen Xi'an's role as a major semiconductor industry base.