Great Wall Motor Company, an automobile company based in China, stated that they are interested in buying Jeeps from Chrysler. However, there's no solid information yet as to whether Great Wall has already submitted a bid to Chrysler, or the proposal is still in the works. On Monday, Chrysler publicly stated that they had not been approached by the Great Wall with such offer or any kind of offer at all.

Could a Chinese company buy Jeeps? Source: ABC News

Keep in mind that such deal could be hampered by the Trump administration. In fact, many of the critics against Chinese ambitions in the United States are already voicing out that the deal should be blocked.

According to Clyde Prestowitz, Economic Strategy Institute's president, the US should carefully consider this deal between China and Chrysler. The biggest issue is that the state-guided capitalism of China does not mix well with the free market capitalism of the United States.

Another big concern is that China is interested in the technology behind Chrysler's Jeeps.

Chrysler states that they have not been contacted yet by the Chinese automaker. Source: ABC News

Rob Atkinson, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's President, commented that they should look at the bigger picture. First of all, American car companies are prohibited by China to independently set up a factory on their soil. Also, China prohibits U.S. companies from becoming a major shareholder in any Chinese company. It's highly possible that China simply wants to buy the technology, bring it home, and start reproducing under its own brand name.

Some critics would also say that the deal should be halted as it's a concern for national security. If the deal comes close to becoming a reality, then it will have to go through the Committee on Foreign Investment, a panel that oversees foreign investments and mergers to ensure that the US is not threatened.

According to a trade lawyer, he can't imagine this deal to materialize once it passes through the Committee on Foreign Investment.

On the other hand, Atkinson is not so sure whether the Committee on Foreign Investment would block the deal.

Chrysler has been in the market looking for someone to buy the company. Source: ABC News

According to Atkinson, in a technical perspective, the deal does not involve national security. Hence, when it comes to blocking the deal, Trump administration’s hands are tied. It's not clear what kind of legal tool the administration can use to block the deal, except public pressure.

For Chrysler, the idea is getting a skeptical reception.

According to the Financial Times, one of the senior company officials commented that it’s hard to imagine Chrysler selling anything to China while Trump is in the White House.

As of the moment, Great Wall would most likely turn to the Chinese government or the bank it controls for funding. Great Wall is not that big yet for it to fund any sort of acquisition. However, they could ask help from the Chinese government, and that would ring alarm bells in Capitol Hill.

Keep in mind that Chrysler is in the market looking for anyone who would want to buy the company. Unfortunately, the company is seeing a lot of dead ends in this department.