eneral Motors says it will set up a $250 million US
alternative fuel research centre in Shanghai.
GM CEO Rick Waggoner says the company believes China has the
potential to become a leader in the adoption of alternative fuels.
He says construction of the first phase of ``The General Motors
Center for Advanced Science and Research'' would be finished late
next year.
China, whose major cities are shrouded in pollution, has been
trying to promote cleaner and more efficient fuels as part of
efforts to cut pollution and rising dependence on imported oil.
China already is the world's number-two oil consumer after the
United States.
It saw imports soar by 14.5 per cent in 2006, driven by economic
growth that has topped 10 per cent for the past four years.
A boom in car sales has added to smog in China's major cities,
which are among the world's dirtiest.
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