JEFFREY IMMELT, General Electric’s chief executive, has launched a rare broadside against the Chinese government, which he accused of being increasingly hostile to foreign multinationals.

He warned that the world’s largest manufacturing company was exploring better prospects in resource-rich countries, some of which did not want to be “colonised” by Chinese investors, but wanted to develop themselves.

“I really worry about China,” Mr Immelt told an audience of top Italian executives in Rome, accusing the Chinese government of becoming increasingly protectionist. “I am not sure that in the end they want any of us to win, or any of us to be successful.”

Mr Immelt also had harsh words for US president Barack Obama, lamenting what he called a “terrible” national mood and expressing concern that over-regulation in response to the global financial crisis would dampen a “tepid” US economic recovery.

Business did not like the US president, and the president did not like business, he said, making a point of praising Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, for her defence of German industry.

“People are in a really bad mood [in the US],” Mr Immelt said. “We [the US] 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 sync.”

Mr Immelt acknowledged the importance of the Chinese market, which contributed $5.3 billion (€4.25 billion) to the group’s revenues last year, but declared GE was encountering its toughest business conditions there in 25 years.

In a statement, GE said Mr Immelt’s remarks had been taken out of context and contested the accuracy of the reporting. “Mr Immelt’s comments at a private dinner focused on the relationship between business and government in general and did not single out President Obama. Mr Immelt also discussed the attractiveness and importance of China as a market for GE.”