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General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) said today its sales in China rose 6 percent to 1.09 million vehicles in 2008, but growth slowed as consumers held back amid an economic downturn.

GM is looking to China's booming auto market to drive global sales growth as demand in North America and other developed markets slump. In 2007, the Detroit-based automaker's China sales, including joint ventures, rose 19 percent.

Today’s figures aren’t impressive unless you compare them with GM’s U.S. 2008 sales.

Analysts say China's total auto sales 2008 growth should be about 8 percent, down from 22 percent in 2007. GM says its expects passenger car sales to recover to about 10 percent growth in 2009. In China, sales for GM's Chevrolet brand rose 15.7 percent in 2008, the company said.

Also today in news from China; the Chinese are getting economically smart.

Daily Small Cap Market News and Stock Highlights from SmallCapVoice.com

AUSTIN, TX, January 6, 2009 -- SmallCapVoice.com, Inc., a recognized corporate consulting firm known for its ability to help emerging growth companies build a following among retail and institutional investors, provides the following market commentary and small cap stock highlights:

Stocks pare gains following mixed readings on factory orders, housing, and service sector

Stocks pared some of their earlier gains Tuesday following disappointing readings on pending home sales and factory orders.
While investors expected the data to show further deterioration, they were hoping the pace of the declines would slow. The market is eager for signs that the U.S. recession will end this year.

Regardless of your political affiliation; it’s a new year and the wheels are turning on Capital Hill.

President-elect Barack Obama said today that the economy was "bad and getting worse." He began talks today with congressional leaders on emergency actions. Obama openly predicted lawmakers would approve hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending and tax cuts within two weeks of his taking office.

To stick with our theme of stocks that will benefit under an Obama administration, Caterpillar Inc., (NYSE:CAT) announced today it will open a road grader plant in North Little Rock, where it will invest $140 million in its factory and hire 600 workers.

Equipment and training at the plant will be state-of-the-art, said facility general manager Jon Harrison. Work on refitting the former videotape and DVD production facility is to begin immediately, with production to start in 2010, he said.

Daily Small Cap Market News and Stock Highlights from SmallCapVoice.com

AUSTIN, TX, January 5, 2009 -- SmallCapVoice.com, Inc., a recognized corporate consulting firm known for its ability to help emerging growth companies build a following among retail and institutional investors, provides the following market commentary and small cap stock highlights:

Stocks Give Back Some of Last Weeks Huge Gains

A strong rise in energy stocks is helping to offset weakness in financials and telecom and shares have erased much of their early losses. There is nothing specific to account for the modest volatility as traders balance expectations of more stimulus with nagging fears that this recession will be longer and deeper than many prior downturns.

In Taipei, shares on the Taiwan exchange rose sharply today on hopes the island's financial institutions will get the greenlight to expand into China. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 172.88 points, or 3.9 percent, to close at 4,589.04.

China and Taiwan have been holding discussions that would permit their financial institutions to set up branches in each other's territory. Local media reports said that agreement may be near. Encouraging since the two sides split amid civil war in 1949.

The good news comes from Synthesis Energy Systems Inc., a Houston, Texas company (NASDAQ:SYMX) which is on the verge of opening the first coal gasification plant in the coal-rich Shandong Province in China.

Earth quake reconstruction in China is a central plank of the government's stimulus plan for the ailing Chinese economy, set to take one-quarter of Beijing's promised $580 billion spending boost and to create millions of sorely needed jobs.

The disaster zone has been transformed into a vast construction site with thousands of people showing up daily from every corner of China.

A partial list of the Chinese needs includes 4.5 million homes, 51,000 miles of roads and 5,500 miles of railways, enough to occupy at least some of the 20 million people who could lose jobs in China's once-humming export factories hit by the global slowdown.

President-elect Barack Obama is proposing a package priced at perhaps $800 billion over two years which is heavy on public works projects and could generate about 3.2 million jobs by the first quarter of 2011.

Here’s today’s headline from China that got me thinking...

BEIJING – China National Offshore Oil Corp., the country's largest offshore oil and gas producer, signed four oil cooperation agreements Friday with Taiwan's CPC Corp., state media reported. CPC Corp., based in Taipei, is a government-owned oil refiner.

Yes we’ve seen the two former warring partners recently swapping pandas, swapping trade (up to about $100 billion a year), and exchanging public smiles. Long gone are the military exercises off of each others coastline. Now; it’s about money.

That should bring about some new investment opportunities in 2009 as their respective markets blend together.

And here’s another headline that might affect individual investors...

Typically, December is the one of the best months for the stock market. But the current trend is flat to downward (could this be the market searching for a bottom?).

Textiles popped up on the radar screen today as it was reported that China the world’s largest, will decrease next year because of higher production costs, slumping prices and competition from grains, industry groups said.

China’s cotton-growing area, Planting will drop 10 to 30 percent, the China Cotton Association said today. Cotton futures in China have slid 19 percent this year.

A separate report by CNCotton, another industry group, showed an 18 percent decline in the growing area. Land devoted to the fiber may decrease 15.6 million acres to 71.3 million next year.

Using this year’s yield, the projected area indicated a crop of 30 million bales in 2009, the lowest since 2005 and down 18 percent from 2008.

Lots of news out of China today that is economically aggressive and seen by investors as ‘action-oriented’ as opposed to the U.S. where the government is bogged down in: “Should we ask the banks we bailed out to account for the money?”

Today, China asked the World Trade Organization to investigate whether the United States is illegally taxing Chinese goods such as steel pipes and off-road tires. It's the first time Beijing has ever sought a WTO panel in a trade dispute. The Geneva-based WTO body can authorize trade sanctions if countries fail to comply with rules. The U.S. says the goods are being exported at below-market value and that it is lawfully defending American manufacturers.

Here are a few stocks that you may not have heard of that are either way down in price due to the bear market or are very affordable as they hover near a fairly consistent price level. I’ll keep it short and sweet and the last one is a great ‘mystery’ stock for those of you who want to do some research when the rest of the family is at the movies...

First up, have a look at China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., (NYSE:CHU) which is based in Hong Kong. CHU has 57,000 employees and a market cap around $32 billion.

Trading around $24 in February of 2007, the price is now around $13.5 (nearly half) and at the present, CHU is engaged in the cellular business in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China.