GENERAL Motors Corp has opened a new Energy Research Center in Beijing over the weekend, part of GM's new collaborative strategy to strengthen its development of new energy models on the world's second largest auto market.

The China Automotive Energy Research Center (CAERC) is jointly set up by GM, its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp Group (SAIC) and Tsinghua University, one of China's leading engineering colleges.

It will be the first professional research institution in the area of automotive energy in China and will support the development of a national automotive energy strategy through comprehensively cooperation between government, industrial partner and academic expertise.

GM and SAIC will jointly invest more than US$6 million within five years in the center.

"The automotive energy is one of the core energy environmental challenges facing our world today,'' Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive officer, said at the center's opening ceremony on Saturday ahead of the Auto China 2008. "With the fastest growing market in the world with no sign of slowing down, China is making a big impact.

"The collaboration will share resources and help to find a clear path for solutions to meet the energy challenge."

The establishment of CAERC came six months after GM announced to set up another engineering center in Shanghai for greener fuels in a US$250 million investment last October.

The car maker has been eyeing an aggressive strategy to promote energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transportation in China, which it believes has the potential to be the first market to adopt new technologies.

Car makers worldwide have been urged to roll out new models with lower fuel consumption and higher emission standards for sustainable growth amid energy shortage and environment pollution.