Nissan, one of the world's major automakers, expressed satisfaction on Tuesday in San Francisco over its cooperation with China's third largest automaker, the Dongfeng Motor Co. Ltd.

"We have a strong cooperation (with our Chinese partner). The joint venture is very successful," Toshiyuki Shiga, senior vice president of Nissan, told reporters ahead of the joint venture's first anniversary.

Despite holding a 50-percent stake, Shiga noted, Nissan has sent only 100 Japanese to take part in the daily management of the joint venture in China. He believed that such a moderate presence of Japanese personnel in the joint venture is a sign of strong cooperation.

Shiga, who is here to attend a Nissan-sponsored media program, also voiced support for some adjustments recently made by the Chinese government in economy. He said some macro-control measures, especially those designed to prevent the economy from overheating, could help make China's economic growth sustainable and ensure a more favorable environment for foreign investment.

Nissan, striving to seek a foothold in the fast-growing Chinese auto market, entered a 50-50 joint venture with Dongfeng in July 2003. The move has created the largest international automotive partnership in China with a total joint investment of 16.7 billion Chinese yuan (about 2 billion US dollars).

As a result, Nissan sold about 300,000 cars in China in 2003, including commercial vehicles produced by Dongfeng. The number represented a 35-percent increase over the previous year, statistics showed.

Under an ambitious mid-term business plan, Nissan plans to double the joint venture's sales of passenger and commercial vehicles to 620,000 units by 2007. The company also plans to double its revenue and achieve a double-digit operating profit by 2007.

Seeking a greater share of the highly competitive auto market in China, Nissan has also planned to introduce six new models to the Chinese market in the next few years, including the Nissan Sunny which has already been launched.

During the ongoing Beijing Motor Show, Nissan unveiled its latest luxury sedan for the Chinese market, the 3.5-liter V6 Teana, or Tian Lai in Chinese, which means "the beautiful sound of nature."

The new sedan, with its elegant styling, luxurious interior and refined driving performance, is designed for successful and sophisticated customers and could be a strong competitor to its peers such as the popular Audi V6.

The Teana will be built by Dongfeng at its Xiangfan plant in Hubei Province and go on sale across China in fall through Dongfeng's passenger vehicle dealer network.