General Motors (GM) said its China sales rose by 38% year-on-year to 814,442 vehicles in the first half of 2009, Reuters reported. The company now expects annual sales growth of 20%, up significantly on GM China CEO Kevin Wale’s earlier projection of "more than 10% growth." The boost was driven in a large part by GM’s China-produced minivans and pickup trucks, which sold strongly due to favorable policies by Beijing. GM’s rival Toyota reported that its sales for the first half of 2009 were virtually unchanged from the same period last year.