Carmakers In China Rev Up As Industry Shifts East

Talk about a near-death experience.

The Beijing auto show opened to the public this weekend in what is now the world's largest car market. But it's the huge potential growth in car ownership in China that has the car manufacturers salivating. Ford plans to expand its manufacturing base there and General Motors recently announced it was adding another 600 dealerships. NPR's Frank Langfitt joins guest host David Greene from Shanghai.

When Barack Obama was running for President—as opposed to, you know, being President—he criticized the Bush administration for not having a clear exit strategy in Iraq. It isn't too early for the new President and his advisers to start asking themselves that same question about Detroit.

China is the world's largest auto market. NPR's Frank Langfitt went to Shanghai's sprawling auto show this week, and compares it with the ones he used to cover in Detroit a few years back, when General Motors and Chrysler were on the ropes.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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Chinese consumers are spending. Karl Gerth, a professor at Oxford University, tells Steve Inskeep that Chinese consumerism already is changing the world. He writes about it in a new book called As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers are Transforming Everything.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us