China holds off on U.S. car market
date: November 16, 2007
SOURCE:the Detroit News
Chinese industry and government officials, seeking to allay
fears of an imminent influx of cheap Chinese cars, told audiences in Michigan this week that China
would not be flooding the U.S.
market with cars anytime soon.
An executive at Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. said Thursday the
automaker planned to export vehicles to the United States someday, but saw it
as a "long-term plan."
Zhang Lin, general manager of Chery International, said the
company was committed to building up exports in emerging markets before
shipping cars to Europe and the United
States. "Entry into the U.S. and Europe market is still an objective for
us, but it is a long-term plan," he said at a conference on China in Birmingham
sponsored by J.D. Power and Associates.
Zhang's comments were similar to a view expressed Tuesday in
Detroit by China's
ambassador to the United
States, Zhou Wenzhong. He said China's
automakers lacked the production capacity to fulfill rising internal demand as
well as run big export operations.
"The notion of Chinese cars flooding the U.S. market is
not a real notion at the moment," Zhou said in a question-and-answer
session following a speech to the Detroit Economic Club.
The Chinese officials spoke against a backdrop of rising
trade tensions between the United States
and China
due to a growing trade imbalance. The United
States had a $232.5 billion deficit with China last year
-- its biggest trade shortfall with any country.
In addition, China's
reputation for manufacturing has been dented by recalls of defective and
potentially dangerous toys and other Chinese-built products.
Chery's Zhang alluded to those concerns when he described
the automaker's cautious approach to the U.S. market. "No question, the
United States
is the most demanding market in the world," he said. "The key is to
continually assess our products and capabilities ... until we feel we're
ready."