Midea Group, a Chinese home appliances maker, signs an agreement to cooperate with Wuxi Xinwu district on Dec 4. [Photo/WeChat account: xinwu_wx]

Midea Group, a Chinese home appliances maker, signed an agreement to cooperate with Wuxi Xinwu district on Dec 4.

The Foshan-based Midea, the largest white electronic appliance manufacturer and exporter in China, became the largest stakeholder in Wuxi-based Little Swan in 2008.

The two companies have collaborated on product capacity, research and development, marketing, supply chain and operational systems, but have remained independent in terms of operations.

Wuxi Little Swan Co, established in 1958, is a top domestic washing machine manufacturer. More than 90 percent of the company's sales revenue comes from its washing machine products.

In 1978, China's first fully automatic washing machine was developed by Little Swan.

Huang Qin (right), acting mayor of Wuxi, attends the signing ceremony and talks about the development of Wuxi Little Swan Co. [Photo/WeChat account: xinwu_wx]

Huang Qin, acting mayor of Wuxi, attended the signing ceremony, noting that "as one of the iconic private enterprises of Wuxi, Little Swan carries the memories and pride of Wuxi as a famous city of industry and commerce. We are glad to witness its revenue rise from 4.3 billion yuan ($625 million) to over 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) within ten years of development."

In recent years, Midea has set up a number of overseas plants, research and development centers, and strengthened the business segments of artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and internet of things.

Midea will continue to support the business of Wuxi Little Swan Co and take advantage of Wuxi to develop high-tech industries on home appliances.

Supported by Midea Group, the new branch of Wuxi Little Swan Co is located in Wuxi Xinwu district. [Photo/wxrb.com]