(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group Co. [SHE:000333] and property developer Country Garden Holdings Co. [HKG:2007], two Fortune 500 companies headquartered within five kilometers of each other, have agreed to form a strategic partnership in Beijiao town, the birthplace of the two companies, in Guangdong province, NetEase reported today.

The pair held a signing ceremony at the real estate firm's headquarters, attracting rare appearances from He Xiangjian, the 75-year-old founder of Midea, and Country Garden Holdings' 62-year-old founder Yang Guoqiang. The local government dubbed the event a "historic moment."

One of the key areas of the cooperation is in smart homes and appliances. The duo will look to consolidate their dominant market positions and join forces through centralized procurement and data sharing.

The two firms will also look to team up in the development and operation of city-industry integration projects, import industrial resources together and promote optimized allocation of assets while looking to quickly implement a smart community strategy. The pair will then leverage their strengths to push their overseas businesses by cooperating in products, markets and sales channels.

"In future, Country Garden will only use appliances made by Midea Group," said Mo Bin, president of the property developer. "Our markets will be theirs from now on, and vice versa."