General Electric, the US industrial group, has linked up with Shanghai-listed XD Electric in another alliance with a Chinese company aimed at strengthening its international position.
The partnership, which includes GE paying $535m for a 15 per cent stake in XD, will sell equipment for power transmission and distribution in China and around the world.
It follows a number of other GE joint ventures with Chinese companies. In 2010 GE reached an agreement with Harbin to sell wind turbines in China. This was followed by last year’s controversial avionics deal with Avic that raised concerns about the transfer of sensitive intellectual property to China