Major Chinese carmakers have cut their lengthy supplier payment cycles – previously used to offset costs and stay competitive in the country’s vast auto market – from nearly a year to less than 60 days, a government-backed industry consortium said, following heightened efforts from Beijing to police the cutthroat sector. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in a statement on Thursday that the 17 assemblers it recently investigated took an average of 54 days to pay their...