Chinese enter U.S. by acquiring U.S. suppliers
By David Sedgwick | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
Posted July 19, 2010

DETROIT (July 19, 1:45 p.m. ET) -- After years of breakneck growth at home, China’s parts makers are starting to reinvent themselves as global suppliers.

No longer content with shipping parts to North America, Chinese suppliers are acquiring U.S. companies and factories, often at bargain prices. In many cases they want to service North American customers -- particularly General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., which already do business with them in China.

In early July, for example, Tempo International Group, a Beijing supplier of brake, chassis and powertrain components, and its financial backer, the municipality of Beijing, formed a joint venture called Pacific Century Motors to purchase GM’s Nexteer steering components unit for a reported $450 million.

“We want to become a mainstream supplier,â€