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President Hu Jintao yesterday encouraged Chinese firms to continue expanding in overseas markets despite the financial crisis.

Chinese firms with capabilities "should stick to the 'go-overseas' strategy and intensify international cooperation," he said.

He was speaking during a visit to a plant being built by Chinese firm Sinoma International.

Wang Wei, president of Sinoma, said business had slowed down over the past few months but started to pick up again this month.

Construction of the plant began in March 2005. Its first phase has started production and now has a daily capacity of 5,000 tons, Naseer Uddin Siddiqui, plant director and assistant general project manager, told China Daily.

"Our plant employs the latest Chinese and Western technologies, with more than 90 percent of the equipment coming from China," he said.

Having worked with Chinese for several years, he said he was very impressed with workers from the country.

"They are hard working and very well organized. When they do a job, they do it with responsibility. And all of them are focused," he said.

Sinoma is China's largest provider of cement engineering services and equipment. It is now building the second phase of the plant, which is scheduled to go into operation by December, and will also have a daily capacity of 5,000 tons of clinker cement.

More than 500 people are working at the construction site now, Sinoma International told China Daily. Sixty percent of the construction work has been completed and 40 percent of the equipment has been shipped and will be installed, it said.

Harsh weather has made life hard for the builders, the company said.

"We have had to adjust our working hours and shifts to make sure the project is completed on time," it said.

Different cultures and regulations also pose a challenge, Sinoma said. However, the company is proud to be involved in the project.

"The project not only improves trade relations between the two countries but strengthens the friendship between us," it said.

Demand for cement is high in Saudi Arabia, as the government is spending heavily on infrastructure projects. The country will spend $400 billion on infrastructure in the next five years, a Bloomberg report said.

Questions:

1. What Chinese firm is building the plant that Hu visited?

2. When is the plant scheduled to go into operation?

3. How much clinker cement will the plant be able to produce daily?

Answers:

1. Sinoma International.

2. By December.

3. 5,000 tons.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.