, Columnist
China's Carmakers Need Some Tough Love
They've been coddled by easy profits from foreign partners' designs.
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China's dalliance with foreign automakers wasn't meant to work like this.
The plan was simple: Overseas car companies would clamor for a stake in what is now the world's biggest auto market. Beijing should let them in only if they formed joint ventures with local factories. Once an alliance was consummated, Chinese carmakers could strip the foreign partner of its technological expertise before heading out to conquer the world.