Toyota said it would build a green science and Technology Research Institute with Tsinghua University and provide fuel cell technology for buses to Fukuda Automobile, a subsidiary of Beiqi Group, a state-owned enterprise. But before releasing the plans, Toyota spent months committing to new investments in the United States.
Technology transfer is Toyota's gesture to Beijing. According to the minutes of Toyota's meetings on March 19 and April 23, as seen by Reuters, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at an internal management meeting, "We need to step on the gas pedal in China".
The minutes of the meeting showed that Mr. Toyoda believed that strategically speaking, it was necessary to announce investments in the United States in order to avoid annoying Trump. The minutes give a glimpse of how Toyota carefully wants to strike a balance between China and the United States, as the two countries compete in investment, employment and influence on the global economy.
"Toyota needs to strike a good balance between China and the United States if it wants to operate globally," Mr. Toyoda was quoted as saying in the minutes of the March 19 meeting. "It's necessary to avoid making enemies."
According to the minutes of the April 23 meeting, the Japanese carmaker is taking what an unnamed executive called a "major move to shift focus to China". In China, Toyota lags far behind Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and General Motors (GM.N).
Toyota did not comment on its internal meeting.
As Sino-Japanese relations thaw, it is easier for Toyota to shift its focus to China, but Trump's trade policy complicates it.
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