An artist performs next to Chinese automaker Brilliant Auto's FSV car last month at the Shanghai International Auto Show in Shanghai, China. (AP File Photo)

DETROIT - Imagine this:

A Chinese automaker suddenly swoops in to rescue an ailing American auto company.

But before the deal can be completed, the U.S. automaker must take a quick trip through a bankruptcy reorganization that's financed by billions of dollars in federal loans, money that will likely never be repaid.

When the dust settles, the Chinese automaker, which hasn't put any of its own cash into the transaction, takes controlling ownership of the American company.

And the CEO of the Chinese company announces he'll run the American automaker, as well.

If this sounds familiar, it is. What I've just described is the basic outline of the Fiat-Chrysler LLC alliance.

There's been virtually no opposition voiced over the Italian company essentially taking over Chrysler.

But could you imagine the uproar from the halls of Congress and union halls if this were a Chinese company?

Fierce opposition on Capitol Hill forced China's National Offshore Oil Corporation to withdraw its efforts to buy Unocal, an American oil company, in 2005.

And the United Auto Workers union has been a vociferous critic of China's economic and social policies.

We are conflicted over China, to say the least. We condemn it for its Communist rule, abysmal human rights record and low wages.

But we buy hundreds of billions of dollars a year in goods from China, which also holds nearly $1 trillion of our public debt.

"There's a xenophobia that's clearly there," said Tom Watkins, Michigan's former state school superintendent, regarding our attitude.

Watkins, now a business and education consultant, is working to promote closer ties between China and Michigan.

Gerald Meyers, a University of Michigan business professor, said Chrysler might have been better off with a Chinese partner than it will be with Fiat.

While Fiat and Chrysler seem like a good fit, Meyers said he's concerned that Fiat isn't committing any money to the relationship.

"They're not putting in any cash, which is what Chrysler needs," he said.

A merger with a state-owned Chinese company that has lots of cash to invest would be "a lot closer to the ideal," said Meyers, the former chairman of American Motors Corp., which Chrysler purchased in 1987.

And, as Meyers noted, much of China's cash reserves came from the United States. Why not reinvest it here to save and create jobs?

Watkins said Chinese automakers, probably using American business agents, will likely quietly enter the U.S. market over the next several years.

Look for Chinese companies to purchase dealerships, assembly plants and other assets Chrysler and General Motors Corp. leave behind in their restructurings, Watkins told me.

"The Chinese wave is coming," he said. "We can be swamped by it, or we can learn to surf and ride the wave."

E-mail Rick Haglund: rhaglund@boothmichigan.com

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