XI'AN, July 5 -- Xi'an Shaangu Power, a Chinese engineering company based in northwestern Shaanxi province, paid318 million yuan (51 million U.S. dollars) for a 75 percent stake of Brno Ekol, a leading Czech turbine manufacturer.

According to an agreement signed by the two companies in January, the acquisition will take place in two steps, with delivery of the remaining stake completed in the years to come.

It is the biggest amount paid by China into Czech's manufacturing industry over the recent years, accounting for about17 percent of China's total investment into the European country.

Shaangu Power, established in 1999, is a major industrial compressor producer in China.