[Marxism] China's economic weight?

["acpollack2@xxxxxxxx" <acpollack2@xxxxxxxx>]

I found the article excerpted below at kclabor.org. Management and government 
are searching for a Chinese auto firm to buy British auto maker Rover. This 
says something about the growing economic weight of China. On the other hand, 
some of that growth comes from investment by British, US and other firms in 
China. So in this specific case we have one multinational company apparently 
undercut by global strategies of others -- although for all I know Rover itself 
already has Chinese investments. Certainly GM is both crying poverty because of 
Third World imports and yet has massive investments there itself.

So the more general point is the need to track this contradictory phenomenon, 
i.e. Chinese economic power growing as a combination of internal and external 
dynamics -- but also, because it's a combination, how does one separate out 
"Chinese" economic power from the parallel growth of multinational 
corporations' power...


MG Rover gets £6.5m loan lifeline
The government says it has offered a £6.5m loan to prevent redundancies being 
made at car manufacturer MG Rover on Monday.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the funds had been agreed to 
avoid job losses "while efforts are made to keep the business together".

Six thousand jobs are at risk if the company's plant in Longbridge, Birmingham, 
closes down.
She said the government had agreed to work with the administrator and unions to 
develop "with all reasonable speed" a realistic business proposition for 
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) and other possible purchasers to 
consider.
It comes on the eve of a mass meeting of workers at the firm's Longbridge plant 
to hear of efforts being made to save their jobs.
The DTI spokeswoman said Ms Hewitt would be prepared to fly to China with trade 
union leaders and that the invitation would be extended to members of 
opposition parties.
Mr Woodley said earlier that he hoped a rescue deal with a Chinese car-maker 
could yet be reached.
Lib Dem leader Mr Kennedy told the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme the 
government should have acted earlier by assessing and negotiating with the 
Chinese "much better".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4429663.stm


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