In a capitalist sense, SAIC did what any business would do, they sat back and waited for MG-Rover to go bust and then hoped to get all the facilities for a song. Their buying the IPR prior to the collapse was probably a mistake, something they needn't have done as they could have waited until the collapse, although it no doubt gave them a lead to getting the Roewe 750 launched ahead of anything NAC-MG seem to have done so far (albeit NAC-MG have been busy transplanting assets and getting them set-up again).
Whether NAC were the Party-poopers remains to be seen. I am not fond of the Roewe 750s looks but still await the NAC version of the ZT. At least we have a choice, and choice is what Western society is all about. But, PR wise, many buyers will not like the attitude taken by SAIC and see NAC-MG instead as the heroes, especially with the fact that Longbridge is set to restart production of the TF next year with a large proportion of UK content. This is the kind of PR that the Chinese companies will need to be seen as acceptable in the UK, as the Japanese have done with Honda, Toyota and Nissan all producing cars here along European design offices.
In UK terms, if it had been a German company doing what either SAIC or NAC have done, there would be no issue, it would be seen as a good thing. But that is British snobbery, and the same negative attitude towards the Chinese ownership applies if either Proton or Tata had bought MG Rover - the perception that there is no quality unlike with German car manufacturers.
However, in the US, MG is a name that carries fond memories, despite the 26 yr absence of the marque, but Rover was a disaster, it was a car the US never took to heart and despite a name change to Sterling, it was a flop! To most US buyers, Rover is a Land Rover. With a change of name to Roewe, SAIC still face the same battle as any other Chinese brand, coming to the US market with a new name with Chinese origins. NAC-MG have the upper hand, not just the name, but the PR relating to the promise to build sports cars in the US, too. Whilst Americans may be more patriotic to their own branding, from what I have seen the average potential US buyer of the NAC-MG believes that the quality can be no worse than the British MGs of recent years. How bad is that!
With regard to your comments about the number of manufacturers, as a Westener, I fail to understand the magnitude of 1.3 billion people and what that means in marketing and sales terms, and it's relevance to the number of manufacturers, especially being used to a market of 60 million, and even the US seems small at 360million. Indeed, I often wonder why there are so many brands competing, even here in the Western world. I can understand branding such as what VW do with Seat and Skoda, but then again, that's a capitalist market and if a company is not delivering the goods, it will go under.
There's no room in business for sentiment and emotion in this business environment. Only the best will succeed - indeed, it's my belief that Jaguar and Aston Martin only exist today - as do Volvo, SEAT, Skoda, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Nissan and Saab etc because the larger parent companies thought branding was the way forward. Historically, there were 100s of companies that folded, or merged but they disappeared (eg. Riley, Wolesly, Morris, Triumph etc) but it seems today that a company must be rescued rather than being allowed to just close.
The same will ultimately happen in China, IMHO, the best will grow, others will fold - the government can't support them all. (Try telling that to the French car makers!) Of course, the enthuisasts of MG Rover all point towards the fact that the British government and councils did not buy MG Rovers - but then again, it's a free market! If the cars were not deemed suitable on a business case comparison, then they should not be bought. Patriotism has no place in business.
A circular issued by the Ministry of Finance and State Environmental Protection Administration said yesterday that the Chinese government, including all it's institutions and organizations, will only be permitted to purchase vehicles from nine companies,according to Jinghua Newspaper. 
