China is at the top of the sales market for General Motors cars. The iconic American automaker, which is owned by US taxpayers, is now more popular in its newly-announced top sales market.

GM and its Chinese joint venture partners have sold 1.21 million vehicles in China in the first six months of 2010. Its US sales have come in at 1.08 million. GM's Chinese auto sales are now up 48.5% over the first half of the year with sales in the US also showing improvement, at a far more modest 15%. Last year was the first year that overall auto sales in China surpassed those in the United States.