Abridged by Don

Jeffrey Immelt, in a private dinner in Italy, accused China of hostility to foreign multinationals. He said GE was exploring prospects elsewhere in resource-rich countries, which did not want to be "colonised" by Chinese investors.

"I really worry about China. I am not sure that they want any of us to win, or any of us to be successful." He blamed Barack Obama for the "terrible" national mood. Business did not like the US president, and the president did not like business.

He praised Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, for her defense of German industry.

"We are a pathetic exporter . . . we have to become an industrial powerhouse again but you don't do this when government and entrepreneurs are not in synch." Mentioning a meeting with Jean-Claude Trichet, he said the president of the European Central Bank "worries about inflation every day", in contrast to Ben Bernanke, who is keeping U. S. interest rates at zero.

China and India are important for GE but I am thinking about what is next, he said, mentioning resource-rich countries in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Indonesia. "They don't all want to be colonised by the Chinese. They want to develop themselves," he said.

His comments echo a rising chorus of complaints from foreign business groups in China about the Chinese Foreign Business Regulatory Environment.