Both companies felt timing was appropriate to strengthen cooperation beyond China's borders in order to enhance the partnership as part of a long-term growth strategy, said Nick Reilly, Executive Vice President of GM.

"By leveraging our individual assets and those of our China joint ventures, SAIC and GM are in a strong position to introduce competitive products outside China to satisfy the needs of consumers in India and other high-potential global markets," said Hu Maoyuan, Chairman of SAIC.

The joint venture is the latest in a string of partnerships between Chinese automakers and their Western counterparts as Chinese companies look to step onto the global stage and crisis-stricken foreign brands try to regain lost profits. Earlier in July, Italian automaker Fiat signed a joint venture deal with Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co. Ltd. to produce car engines in China.

A Win-Win Wireless Situation

Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) announced plans to launch a customized version of the BlackBerry running on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network in a move to tap into the growing Chinese wireless market, the two firms said on December 8.

The announcement was made shortly after RIM inked an agreement with Digital China, a major IT product distributor, to sell the handsets in China. Previously, the BlackBerry was only officially available in China for corporate users through China Mobile's sales channels.

Wang Jianzhou, Chairman of China Mobile, said the company would provide a cheaper package for the new BlackBerry catering to individual customers and smaller firms. Wang provided no timeframe for the sales campaign.

Analysts believe the alliance is bound to help establish RIM's foothold in China as the country's wireless network upgrade boosts demands for multifunctional smartphones. For China Mobile, the trendy multimedia handset will also spark interest in its TD technology, they said.

Compared with the established 3G standards adopted by its smaller rivals, there are few advanced handsets available for its still-developing TD standard. The telecom giant announced earlier this year plans to give 600 million yuan ($87.8 million) in subsidies to cellphone makers to develop TD-SCDMA handsets.

Green German Deals

German engineering giant Siemens A.G. signed orders with Chinese companies worth 2 billion yuan ($293 million) on December 8, most of which are for environmentally friendly products.

The orders, made from a wide range of businesses, including those in the energy, transportation and healthcare industry, show that growth in the market for environmental protection technology is the strongest in emerging countries, said Peter Loescher, President and CEO of Siemens AG.

Over half of Siemens' future growth in China would be related to green technology, said Richard Hausmann, President of Siemens China.

China now accounts for 6 to 7 percent of Siemens' global business. The company's environmental portfolio in the country includes solutions for sectors involving power generation, transmission and consumption. Buildings, lighting, transportation and industry, as well as environmental protection technologies such as water purification and air pollution controls, are also included in the portfolio, Hausmann said.