It was March 2009, and U.S. automakers were on their knees. Federal bailout money had just started working its way through the industry, but bankruptcy still loomed, and the Detroit companies were desperate for cash.
So it was that Sun Yanchen, the director of legal affairs for Beijing Automotive Industrial Holding Co Ltd, a state-owned enterprise (SOE) that is China’s fifth–largest car manufacturer, found himself fighting the Michigan chill. He was there as part of a team sent to negotiate a deal with one of the Big Three automakers. (Sun says he can’t identify which one.) The BAIC officials were hoping to purchase “whole-car technology” from the U.S. company—everything, including designs, patents, and tooling, needed to put together a complete and proven automobile.
