GM's China operations face little impact

The impact of GM's bankruptcy protection filing in New York is expected to have little impact on its operations in China.

The reassurance came from the automaker's China chief executive office. GM also says the China operations will be the "critical" part of a new GM.

In Shanghai, General Motors in China said on Tuesday that it was business as usual, just hours after its parent company filed for bankruptcy in the United States.

President of GM China, Kevin Wale, said Chinese customers could have full confidence in their brand.

Kevin Wale, President of GM China, said, "It is my job, and the rest of the leadership team here in China to communicate broadly and all of our constituents here in China, it's absolutely business as usual in China. And any customer will have access to security, and service and support going forward."

After years of lagging behind its big Japanese rivals, GM has overtaken Toyota and Honda in China to become the leading foreign brand of automobiles.

Jia Xinguang, Columnist, "China Auto" Magazine, said, "The position a car company holds in the market in China will decide the position they hold in the world in the near future. Why do we say this? Because China is the last growing car market in the world. China is the last chance for many companies. So China is important to GM and and all the other car companies."

General Motors says it had seen record growth in the past two months. Its plans for continued growth in China, where its sales rose 33 percent in January-May from a year earlier, remain intact.