Although the largest US automaker General Motors Corp. is preparing for possible bankruptcy, its market in China continues to be strong, Ray Yong, vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of GM, said on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the GM headquarters in the US auto city of Detroit, Yong said that the company has a record sale in China in the first quarter of 2009. "We are very pleased as the market is growing for us in China," he noted.

"We believe that in 2009, with the Chinese economy continuing to grow, there will be another record year for the Chinese auto industry and the GM as well in China," he predicted.

GM aims to double its annual sales in China to 2 million vehicles in five years. And to meet that target, the US automaker plans to introduce more than 30 new or upgraded models in China in the next five years.

Asked to comment on the Chinese auto industry, Yong called it an evolving industry which has the advantage of a very strong domestic market and is able to gain economy's scale.

"I truly believe that at some juncture, there will be Chinese vehicles sold in the United States, (and) the Chinese automakers are learning from a lot of the foreign brands," he added.

"I am not sure when the first Chinese cars will be sold in mass in the United States or in North America, but clearly if you look at the trends, for example, the Japanese and the Koreans at some junctures, the Chinese automakers will be selling cars in the United States or North America, and this is good for Americans or North Americans as they will have more choices in vehicles," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2009)