Who made this car? That's getting harder to answer

Editor's note: Yu Bokun is a CGTN economic commentator.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of CGTN.

For years, the economic relationship between China and the United States has been described in terms of competition: Who sells more, who makes more.

But there is another crucial side to the relationship — cooperation — and sometimes, you can see it most clearly in a single product.

Take cars, for example.

American automaker General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC Motor recently agreed to extend their joint venture for another 20 years.

What makes the partnership notable is that it is no longer simply about selling American cars to Chinese consumers.

According to Detroit-based GM, the renewed partnership puts the joint venture in a position to boost its technological transformation and increase growth opportunities.

China's SAIC brings a huge automotive market, a dense supply chain and expertise in electric vehicles.

America's GM brings global brands, engineering capabilities and access to international markets.

Put those pieces together, and the result is not simply a Chinese product or an American product.

It is a product developed through cooperation — and potentially sold to the rest of the world.

Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, said the partnership between GM and SAIC reflects the core of China-US economic and trade cooperation: Leveraging complementary strengths and creating value together.

"The cooperation is not simply about one side entering the other's market.