Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) (file photo)

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) completed the construction of its West Region Technical Center in Chengdu, Sichuan province on Jan. 18, Chinanews.com reported.

It's the company's fourth technical center in China, following those in Beijing, Guangzhou and Suzhou. The center covers an area of 3,600 square meters. 3M officially announced its Chengdu center on March 10, 2015; since then, hundreds of millions of RMB have been invested in its construction.

Stephen Shafer, president of 3M Greater China Area, introduces the company's diversified development to Raymond Greene, consul general for the United States in Chengdu. (Chinanews.com/Liu Yanjun)

China is no doubt a key growth market for 3M, said Stephen Shafer, president of 3M Greater China Area. He noted that with the ongoing implementation of China's Belt and Road Initiative, together with western development strategy, 3M is surprised by the great potential and vitality shown in the western China market. 3M will seize the opportunity and accelerate its investment in this region, according to Shafer.

The completion of 3M's Western Region Technical Center will further strengthen the company's product development and research capabilities in China's western market, and help the corporation to forge closer ties with local clients.

In the past five years, 70 percent of new highways in Sichuan province have used reflective signs produced by 3M. (Chinanews.com/Liu Yanjun)

The center will effectively promote the development and transformation of related industry chains, and bring benefits to the economic development of China's western region, said Raymond Greene, consul general for the United States in Chengdu. As one of the earliest foreign-owned enterprises to enter China, 3M has been in the Chinese market for more than 30 years.