General Motors Corp. plans to invest in research into environmentally friendly technologies for the Chinese market, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The GM will establish a center for advanced auto research that will be part of a US$250-million corporate campus that the GM is building in Shanghai, the report quoted GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner as saying.

The Detroit auto maker will collaborate with one of its local joint-venture partners, the Chinese government and academic institutions on ways to help the country reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

"The time for addressing these challenges is not tomorrow, but today," Wagoner said during a visit to China.

What happens in China, Wagoner said, likely will have a major impact on the auto industry's adoption of environmentally friendly technologies world-wide because of the government's involvement with the industry.

The GM plans to introduce a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle next year in China, said the report, but it added that officials declined to provide details.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2007)