Jeff Immelt, GE CEO: Resource-Rich Countries Don't Want To Be 'Colonized' By China

At a private dinner in Rome, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt blasted China and took a shot at President Obama and the pending financial reform efforts in Congress, reports the Financial Times.

The Chinese government, Immelt said, is increasingly putting pressure on developing nations with large natural resources. Resource-rich nations don't want to be "colonized" by China, he reportedly added and decried what he sees as China's protectionist stance.

Immlet also blasted President Obama, citing the generally "terrible" economic sentiment in America. At Fortune, Heidi Moore posits that Immelt's China-related fury, which GE said was taken out of context, can simply be chalked up to his talking his own book. Here's Moore:

"Immelt's frustration may have been fed by GE's (GE) own missed goals in the country. While Immelt boldly predicted that GE would double its revenues in China between 2008 and 2010, they actually only grew by 12% through 2009. Unless they grow by 88% this year, Immelt looks overly optimistic.

More importantly, however, Immelt should not take it personally. China isn't hostile to multinationals; it's hostile to any non-Chinese company. This has less to do with GE than it does with the last decade of history between China and the U.S. when it comes to market protectionism."

General Electric spent $7 million lobbying the government in the first quarter of 2010, American Banking News reports, up from $6.8 million the previous quarter -- on issues from health care reform to consumer protection.

Check out the full piece on Immelt's remarks at the FT.

Comments

[Dangerous Dan]

08:49 PM on 07/15/2010

Bama and Immelt are like that. (0)(0) 2 piss in a pod.
Just like he is/was with Caterpillar CEO.

[Winged Pegasus]

09:49 PM on 07/15/2010

Don't forget to fan those who have fanned you. Winged Pegasus.

[Dangerous Dan]

09:07 AM on 07/16/2010

My apologies, sometimes we forget etiquette and simple courtesy sitting by ourselves.

Fanned of course.

[gfs5541]

12:47 AM on 07/14/2010

There's a reason China is hostile to non-Chinese companies: They want their companies to be the world's best and they don't want the multinationals to take over China like they did here. As long as we don't take the attitude the Chinese are taking, we will continue to lose jobs and our intellectual property will continue to get stolen from us.

[DreamWeaver2nd]

02:52 PM on 07/08/2010

Jack Welch bragged about his great idea to move GE services to India where they speak English because GE would make a huge profit paying the Indians lower wages. Outsourcing jobs by American corporations is unAmerican.

GE is also a defense contractor and part of the war machine profiteering with what ought to be a conflict of interest because GE runs a media empire including TV: profit and propaganda 24/7.

This is what has happened with the company that used to say : Progress is our most important product. I guess we believed that progress would remain in the United States of America.

GE is hugely profitable. The 2009 taxes paid to USA is reported as zero. (Tax shelters, etc.)

[Layman23]

06:32 PM on 07/06/2010

GE ! This is the company that shoved its products on other peoples and countries throat in the pretext of business delegation when visiting with republican presidents abroad.

GE Capital is the most predatory lender on the market. Had a paypal card and i experienced what they did.

I never buy GE products not even for the kitchen !

[senorlou]

03:33 AM on 07/06/2010

Yes, of course they don't want to be colonized by China. They'd rather be colonized by the US, right Mr. GE CEO?

[olddognewtrick]

12:33 AM on 07/06/2010

Rhymes with tunamelt...

[CroatianCritter]

12:37 AM on 07/05/2010

I heard China signs contracts with governments to help develop the nation in return for a cut of the national resources. This sure is a lot better than the American policy of giving money to a dictator who uses it to consolidate his rule and kill anybody who opposes him. Maybe this is the reason why China is starting to surpass us economically! By the way, GE! You guys invested heavily in your GE Capital wing on these interest only mortgages and it cost you 100 billion dollars. Can the American people get that money back now please? I really don't care about your survival!

[BobbyPeru2]

05:37 PM on 07/04/2010

I THINK YOU SPELL IT "I MELT."

[Joseph Joyal]

05:02 PM on 07/04/2010

He says as GE builds more plants in China, Want a two faced Laying bastard

[senorlou]

03:34 AM on 07/06/2010

You can see why he got so far in corporate America.

[48thGuy]

04:59 PM on 07/04/2010

Immelt should just shut the ---- up and mind his own store...He's been a failure since he took the CEO job and the price of the stock shows it...Can't imagine why anyone would by this this chump's book...He could though, write a book on how to screw up a multi-national corporation..He's been doing that for years.

[Ichigo Kurosaki]

04:06 PM on 07/04/2010

The corporations don't want China as competition. They're the ones trying "colonize" Africa, South America & other parts of Asia

[GailO]

12:28 PM on 07/04/2010

The corporate multinationals are upset that the American consumer has not returned even though they, along with Wall Street and politicians, have stolen our money, jobs and future.

Neoliberal crony capitalism policies do not work and never will. As more and more people have politically awoken to the global elites pillaging the planet, it is time for a social-economic justice movement that changes these injustices that these global elites have brought upon the 98% of humanity.

[Linda from Deerfield]

09:24 AM on 07/04/2010

Where us the "so sorry we've been taking the American people for granted" Immelt who appeared so stunned and contrite at the height of the meltdown? It's just not fashionable I guess.

[al1887]

12:03 AM on 07/04/2010

Say what you will about GE's inability to penetrate and increase investment in Resource-Rich countries, but please do not blame GE for the decline of the US manufacturing sector or for jumping on the outsourcing bandwagon. The American consumer is every bit culpable and accountable for the prevalence of outsourcing when they started to purchase cheaper imports as opposed to the more expensive domestic alternatives. In addition, congress and every administration, both democratic and republican, has back-stabbed the middle class through international treaties. China, India, Brazil and Russia(the B.R.I.C. countries) has significant tariffs and quotas on imports and this allows them to maintain their above average GDP growth. Even as we speak, President Obama is about to enter into a treaty with South Korea which will give them more favorable tariff rates on automobile imports into the United States, which will have horrible implications for domestic automobile manufactures. It is time for us to hold all parties accountable for the lamentable decline of our domestic manufacturing industry instead of just corporations.

[Tulka2]

11:59 PM on 07/03/2010

In history's long view, this might be the worst of G.W. Bush's legacy. While we were busy squandering our treasure and blood in the middle east, China dug into South America and Africa. But... as long as G.E. had all those military contracts, right? And now....?