As American politicians talk of letting U.S. automakers, like General Motors, fail and potentially close their doors, China is experiencing a boom in auto sales as its government takes aggressive steps to boost the Chinese auto industry during the global economic slowdown.

Succeeding in its efforts to turn the sale of Chinese vehicles around, Beijing cut its taxes on small cars in half  and gave incentives for those buying cars in rural areas. The result was a 25-percent increase in auto sales that ended a four-month decline in China and constituted the biggest jump in 18 months.

“Consumers are regaining confidence because of the government’s stimulus policies,” Ricon Xia, an analyst at Daiwa Research Institute in Shanghai, told Bloomberg News. “Still, vehicle sales may fluctuate in the coming months.”

China’s auto sales topped 827,000 in February and gave the country hope it could fill the gaps left by a U.S. auto industry on the brink of extinction. And China’s efforts to break into the automotive markets, especially since its nation’s is home to the largest number of car sales in the world, is seen as necessary to ensure China’s rise to an international superpower.