BEIJING -- Consumer goods giant Unilever on Friday announced that it will launch a green production base in Meishan, Sichuan province, further expanding its presence in the world's second-largest economy.

According to the agreement, the production base will have an area of about 27 hectares, and Unilever will invest about 300 million yuan ($47.38 million) in the first phase of detergent production, expecting an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tons.

At the project's signing ceremony in Beijing, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman said the company remains optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese market and sees huge investment potential.

Even if the Chinese economy eased further below 7 percent this year amid the current economic slowdown, Polman said, the Chinese economy will double every 10 years, which is rarely seen anywhere else in the world.

The Unilever production base is expected to employ more than 500 people from local communities for the first phase of the project and create more job opportunities in the future when all products, ranging from toothpaste to shampoo, are produced there.

Unilever currently has two production bases in China, located in Hefei, Anhui Province, and Tianjin Municipality.