Dong's comments came days after China's auto industry regulator said authorities plan to further open the country's automobile industry to foreign investors. Beijing hopes opening up will boost the competitiveness of Chinese partners through absorbing foreign technology and management expertise.

Dongfeng's capital injection to give Peugeot new drive

Wanxiang wins Fisker auto bid

China's central government has made "fresh calls for more opening" and relevant bodies are "studying the issue and will implement it", Xiao Chunquan, a spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said this week.

The stance of CAAM, which has around 2,000 members including China's biggest automakers such as SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, FAW Group and Dongfeng, underscores widening tension between the state auto industry and policymakers.

CAAM has previously voiced its opposition to relaxing rules of foreign investment in China's auto sector.

"If China relaxes foreign ownership rules, it would be devastating to China's indigenous brands. Chinese local brands would be killed in the cradle," it said earlier this month.

China mulls revising auto joint venture bar

CAAM against lifting limit on foreign stakes