Shacking up - Nanjing and SAIC form partnership

Instead of beating each other's brains out and assuring that nobody wins, SAIC and Nanjing have decided to stand close to each other on the playground. While they may still avoid eye contact and kick pebbles instead of developing a friendship, they will be carrying out what they're terming a "comprehensive collaboration." Design, production and sales efforts will be pooled in an effort to make China's automakers competitive with outsiders like General Motors and Volkswagen, who currently dominate China's vehicle market. The weekend announcement of the effort was mum on a merger, but did mention an asset swap as the two state-controlled businesses go forward splitting resources. At the very least, it seems like the cooperative effort will quell the bickering over the carved up carcass of Rover Cars.
[Source: Detroit News]