Pang Qinghua said the terms of the deal would still be subject to the bankruptcy administrator's review of the Swedish company.

"What I meant was that during restructuring, the court is authorized to adapt any restructuring plans, including vetoing previous agreements," Pang told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Chengdu.

"It's up to the one handling the reorganization to decide whether previous agreements are valid or not, he said. "I am sticking to the commitment. Yes, I am confident about it."

His earlier skeptical comments about the deal caused shares of Saab's parent company, Swedish Automobile NV, to fall nearly 30 percent following a temporary suspension. After his clarification, the shares recovered most of their value.

Swedish Automobile has insisted that its 245 million euro (2.1 billion yuan) deal with Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. is still valid.

The volatility came as the administrator in charge of Saab's restructuring under court protection was reviewing the plan.

Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said the administrator could pull the plug on the process at any time, paving the way to declaring the automaker bankrupt.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Pang said: "Now that it's in bankruptcy protection, all previous pacts are invalid. It's up to the court to decide. It can also find a new partner."

Pang added he did not know whether the Chinese side had submitted a proposal to the Chinese government regarding the Saab deal.

Despite Pang's comments, Swedish Automobile CEO Victor Muller sent a brief text message to Reuters: "On track with both Pang Da and Youngman."

A Swedish Automobile statement later said the confusion was based on a "misunderstanding," but it did not elaborate.

On Sept. 30, Swedish Automobile said the Chinese partners were still on track to invest in the company. But Swedish Automobile said the terms were still under negotiation because its shares had fallen in value since the deal's announcement.

Awaiting approval

Saab has struggled for months to stave off collapse, seeking new investors and selling assets to pay suppliers and employees and resume production at its plant in Sweden.

In June, Saab's owner signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. to take a 29.9 percent stake and for Pang Da to take a 24 percent stake. The deal would be worth 2.1 billion yuan.

Saab still has not received a vital bridge loan of 613 million yuan that was secured by Youngman, money considered key to its short-term survival.

The investment hinges on approval from the Chinese and Swedish governments and a green light from the European Investment Bank and Saab shareholder General Motors.

Asked on Wednesday whether the deal had been submitted to China's National Development and Reform Commission for approval, Pang said it had not.

"Youngman's Pang Qingnian is the one that is supposed to send the application to the NDRC," Pang said. "As far as I know, he is soliciting opinions among industry experts regarding the deal. They are not done with it yet."

Pangda had paid 45 million euros to Saab for a separate deal to purchase 2,000 cars but had not received any cars because of a production halt since April.

"As for the cash injection (into Saab), I can do that only after the government approves the deal," Pang said.

Asked about the prospects for winning approval, he said: "When it comes to Saab, I think if it's in China, the government wouldn't let it collapse."

Gaining Chinese government clearance could be difficult because Beijing follows a strict and price-sensitive policy when it comes to overseas acquisitions.

Failure to gain Beijing's approval on time torpedoed a deal Saab entered into with Chinese company Hawtai Motor Group in May, while Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery's bid to buy GM's Hummer brand in 2010 also fell through.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., which bought Volvo Car Corp. in 2010, denied reports last week that it was interested in Saab.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp., which is developing some new models based on old Saab platforms, does not want to get involved in the restructuring of the 60-year-old Swedish brand, Chairman Xu Heyi said this week.