China's voracious desire for four wheels may well be the saving grace of beleaguered U.S. automakers, which are shutting down factories in a hurry at home. That's because China has emerged as the only major auto market still seeing growth amid the worldwide downturn.

China's auto sales have outstripped the United States and held on to the world's first place for five consecutive months since January. Government revitalization policies for the industry contributed to the auto market boom. Most of the world's auto titans' high-profile presence at April's Shanghai auto show also proved that China has become the place to be for automakers.

The gravity of the world's auto landscape is obviously finding its second wind in the East. Backed up by government incentives and with the largest market at their doorstep, Chinese automakers should foster their own competitive edge, instead of further being the assembly lines for foreign brands.

China began building its first automaker—China First Automobile Works Group Corp.—56 years ago, with the first truck rolling off its assembly line three years later. Trucks dominated the early years of China's auto production. Large-scale car production hadn't started until the 1980s, when major state-owned automakers established joint ventures with foreign auto giants.

During the past decade, local brands have emerged. Some privately owned makers like Chery and Geely have also become household names. With low prices affordable to more and more ordinary consumers, local brand cars have grabbed nearly one third of the domestic market.

But facts show that at present top-selling cars in China are mostly the famous foreign brands produced by those Chinese-foreign joint ventures. These brands are greatly loved by the first- and second-generation car consumers in China, thus making the country a huge market for nearly all internationally famous brands. It is expected that the honeymoon between foreign auto giants and the Chinese consumers may last for a long time to come, which may be sad news for the domestic makers that still lack in core technology.

Luckily, the Chinese market boom will surely lure more technologies and new models of foreign giants. While partnering or competing with them, Chinese automakers should take the chance of accumulating technologies and develop our own models.