A far-reaching collaborative strategy to support the Chinese government’s pursuit of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transportation that will be based on the principle of “in China, with China, for China” was unveiled by General Motors Corporatrion's Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner today (29th October).

Wagoner was joined for today’s announcement by Xu Dingming, Vice Chairman of the Office of China Energy Leading Group; Chen Hong, President of SAIC Motor; and He Jiankun, Vice President of Tsinghua University.

GM also announced the first two major initiatives of its long-term strategy.

The first initiative is the establishment of the GM Center for Advanced Science and Research. The facility will be part of a new US$250 million GM campus in Shanghai. The center will carry out advanced research projects in partnership with the Chinese government, industry partners and academic institutions.

The second initiative is the establishment of the China Automotive Energy Research Center (CAERC), a collaborative effort with Beijing’s Tsinghua University and GM’s strategic partner in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC).

“The new GM Center for Advanced Science and Research will support China as it undertakes one of the most rapid technological transformations in world history,” Wagoner said. “It is designed to bring together various resources, including SAIC’s new Energy Unit, to accelerate research in the areas of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly automotive technologies, as well as alternative fuel pathways that are socially responsible, economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and technologically feasible.”

The state-of-the-art facility will be situated at GM’s new corporate campus in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, which will be home to GM’s operations in China, including its Asia Pacific headquarters. The first phase of construction is slated for completion in late 2008.

While Wagoner explained that the joint research and development will be spread across a variety of areas, he said that GM will commit significant resources to exploring various biofuel options, including the development of non-food cellulosic ethanol technologies .