ZC Rubber, Bekaert sign steel cord deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium—China's Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) has signed strategic cooperation agreement with Belgium's N.V. Bekaert S.A., focusing on the development of steel cord for green tires.

"Green is the key word in the cooperation," said ZC Rubber President Shen Jinrong, who signed the agreement together with Bekaert President Bert de Graeve during a recent European Union-China Summit in Brussels.

ZC Rubber said the agreement promotes the integrated cooperation in the steel cord area and will allow it to increase its focus further on developing green and smart tires. High quality steel cord helps reduce a tire's weight and rolling resistance, ZC Rubber said.

The two companies will cooperate not only on new materials, cutting-edge products and clean production, but also on the social responsibility, environmental protection and personal health, ZC Rubber said. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Green development is increasingly prominent theme of ZC Rubber," Shen said. "We devote to protect the environment and advocate the green development in the whole rubber industry as well as provide more premium green tires for global customers."

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel witnessed the signing.

This is ZC Rubber's second announcement in recent weeks pertaining to green tire development.

In mid-May, the company disclosed that it had initiated work at a research and development center it built in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering. The new facility, located on Ningbo Institute property, will focus on the development of "novel environmental-friendly green materials."