Samsung Electronics has broke ground for a semiconductor plant in China, which is considered the world’s largest consumer market of information technology products.

Samsung held a ground-breaking ceremony Wednesday for the plant in Xian in the southern province of Shaanxi. The facility will make use of advanced ten nanometer-class technology in producing NAND flash memory chips. A total of seven billion dollars is being spent on the project.

Samsung Electronics brought in 38 trillion won in sales in China in the first half of this year. By producing semiconductors locally in China, the Korean electronics firm will secure a production system that could outrival competitors such as Apple.

Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun said that by building a semiconductor production plant in China, Samsung will be able to maintain its competitive edge, noting China is the hub of global IT firms and the largest IT consumer market. Kwon said that China’s central and regional governments had provided active support for the latest project.