France, Aug. 8 -- When in 1994 Klaus Wulf, chief technical officer of the German-Chinese joint-venture FAW-Volkswagen was asked if he was worried about the effect of China's demands for transfer of the latest German technology, he did not appreciate it.
"You are looking for a needle in a haystack," he snapped angrily. "We now have access to a market with millions of customers."
In Changchun, the factories of Chinese car giant First Automotive Works had begun producing Volkswagen's Jetta sedan car, based on the Germany company's 1979 model. It was to become immensely popular with the rising Chinese middle class, and taxi companies.
Volkswagen was one of a handful of Western car companies trying to gain a foothold in China, after it opened...