Chinese tire maker picks North Carolina site for major plant

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A Chinese tire maker is moving more aggressively into the U.S. market with plans for a North Carolina factory that is to ultimately employ 800 people and produce six million tires a year.

A state committee on Tuesday approved tax breaks to coax Triangle Tire to rural Edgecombe County, about 65 miles (100 kilometers) east of Raleigh. It's to be the first U.S. plant for Weihai, China-based maker of tires for passenger vehicles, trucks, buses and heavy equipment.

Triangle Tire could receive up to $152 million in state and local tax breaks, worker training and other incentives if it meets hiring targets.

The Triangle factory marks at least the third Chinese tire maker to build production plants in the U.S., with other companies choosing sites in South Carolina and Georgia.

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Associated Press writer Joe McDonald contributed to this report from Bejing.