A mother in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province sparked outrage among onlookers after she hesitated to allow firefighters to break the window of her BMW to free her 2-year-old trapped inside.
The toddler became locked in the car after his parents left him to go shopping with the key inside, media reported.
The child's father called locksmiths and police after failing to break the glass.
A witness who posted photos in a local forum Sunday wrote that the child had already been trapped in the car for one hour when rescuers arrived.
Two locksmiths were also called to the scene but were unable to pop the lock, local media reported.
Futian firefighters confirmed receiving a rescue call at 6:40pm on Saturday and arrived to find the crying boy trapped in the vehicle.
When fireman told the woman they needed to break the glass, she told them to wait, prompting a heated reaction from the crowd.
"At first, mother didn't agree to break the glass. But we saw the boy lay down on the driver's seat and started to worry," a rescuer said.
"We decided to forcibly break the glass, taking the child's safety into consideration."
Authorities warned parents that leaving children inside cars, especially during the summer, can be deadly. Outside temperatures of 35 C can reach as high as 65 C inside a car within 15 minutes.
