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As the business world roils in response to geopolitical tensions and supply chain challenges, Stellantis is making some changes related to its global footprint.

According to Bloomberg, the automaker has concerns about its operations in China, with Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares revealing recently that the company plans to transition to a strategy he referred to as \\u201casset light.\\u201d

With this, the company has closed its only Jeep plant on Chinese soil.

Tavares suggested that the plant, which was producing Jeep Cherokee, Renegade, Compass and Grand Commander models for the Chinese market, was collateral damage from ongoing trade spats.\\xa0

He indicated he was fearful that \\u201cpolitical interference\\u201d could mean the plant could fall victim to \\u201ccross-sanctions\\u201d \\u2013 perhaps the type that are hitting Russia in the event China were to act on rising tensions with Taiwan.

But this doesn\\u2019t appear to be the only reason Stellantis is terminating its 12-year partnership with China\\u2019s state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group. Tavares cites \\u201ca major shift\\u201d in the Chinese market that\\u2019s causing foreign vehicle sales to fall, due at least in part to the Chinese Communist Party\\u2019s policies that support domestic automakers. He also alluded to \\u201cbroken trust\\u201d between Stellantis and its Chinese partners.

The following day, Guangzhou Automobile Group fired back, with Bloomberg reporting that the auto group called Tavares\\u2019 comments \\u201cunbelievable\\u201d and said that the real reason Stellantis was abandoning the venture was because it \\u201cfailed\\u201d\\u2026 due to \\u201ca lack of respect for customers in the Chinese automobile market.\\u201d

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