GM CEO: China will continue to be GM's key partner of business

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson speaks at a news conference following GM's bankruptcy filing, at the GM Building in New York, June 1, 2009. General Motors Corp filed for bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism into a new and uncertain era of government ownership. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson said Monday that China will continue to be a key partner of business of GM.

Speaking at a press conference in GM's New York building, Henderson said that GM's venture in China is a critical part of GM, saying its business in China in "growing very fast."

"Our business in China continues to grow very fast, I should say at torrid pace," he said. "And we are very appreciable of that."

The business is also "highly successful" and "profitable" with its partner the SAIC (Shanghai Auto Industry Corporation) (SAIC), he said. "SAIC remains a critical partner of General Motors going forward."

"I would say already our business in China is one of our critical part being successful as a global automaker," he said. "We had a good start."

Speaking of the future cooperation, he said: "We are very interested and excited about the next five years," he said.

General Motors, the largest automaker of the United States and for decades an icon of American manufacturing, filed a bankruptcy petition to New York Bankruptcy Court on Monday morning.

GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York at 8 am Eastern Time.