China vows comprehensive efforts to advance EV development: official

China will take comprehensive measures to advance the high-quality development of new energy vehicles, officials said at the ongoing China EV100 Forum 2025, which opened Friday in Beijing.

The forum highlights the latest trends and policies in new energy vehicles (NEVs), including intelligent development and the emerging ecosystem of integrated industries.

Themed "Strengthening Electrification and Advancing Intelligence for High-Quality Development," the three-day event features 12 themed sessions, gathering government officials and representatives from various industry sectors such as automotive, energy, transportation, and telecommunications to discuss the latest developments in the NEV industry.

Officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that they will enhance support policies to further strengthen and expand the industry's competitive edge. They will encourage research and development of key components, including advanced materials for power batteries, automotive chips, and high-efficiency hybrid engines. In autonomous driving, efforts will be made to advance pilot programs for intelligent connected vehicle access and road traffic integration, improve industry standards, and grant conditional approval for the production of Level 3 self-driving vehicles.

Officials from the National Energy Administration reported that by the end of 2024, the total number of charging facilities nationwide had reached 12.8 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 49.1 percent. In the next step, the administration will continue to address gaps in charging infrastructure, focusing on accelerating innovation and fostering new technologies and business models in the charging sector.

According to the latest data, as of Friday, applications for China's automobile trade-in subsidies had surpassed 1.769 million this year. Retail sales of new energy vehicles and passenger cars nationwide had exceeded 2.05 million so far this year - an increase of approximately 34 percent compared to the same period last year.

Based on these figures, officials from the Ministry of Commerce stated that efforts to deepen the implementation of automobile trade-ins will continue, with plans to enhance further support for new energy vehicle purchases to unlock the full potential of consumer demand.

"We will continue to organize nationwide events like auto consumption seasons and car culture festivals, accelerate the promotion of marketable new energy vehicles, expand charging infrastructure, and enhance after-sales services in rural areas. Our goal is to tackle the challenges in purchasing and using new energy vehicles in counties and townships," said Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping at the forum.

China vows comprehensive efforts to advance EV development: official

Residents of earthquake-damaged areas of Myanmar are in urgent need of safe drinking water, health care, and temporary shelter after Friday's devastating quake, according to Arnaud de Baecque the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Myanmar.

The quake hit the center of Myanmar, with an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.

Despite international rescue and relief efforts, residents are living in harsh conditions and facing multiple challenges, de Baecque said.

"People are sleeping in the street, people are trying to access medical care, but the buildings are damaged as well. The hospital and primary health-care center cannot be used for now. We have sent already some reinforcement from Yangon together with the National Society of the Myanmar Red Cross to support the initial efforts. And we know also that we've seen the Chinese response, including the search and rescue teams that are still active in the first few days. We hope to find more survivors. And also the support given by the Chinese Red Cross society that is integrated into the general effort," said de Baecque.

The most urgent needs of the affected residents are clean water, health care, especially for the elderly, and safe shelter, according to the ICRC official, with scorching temperatures adding to the challenges.

"Access to safe drinking water is a priority. As the electricity is down, the water pumping system is not working, so the treatment of the water is not happening, temperatures are very high. We're reaching the hot season up to 40 degrees Celsius. Support for old people injured during the earthquake and their health in general would be the second one. And the third is support for livelihood and people who cannot access their homes and their kitchens just to keep having food and a way of sleeping in a safe manner, even if it's outside in the street," said de Baecque.

The death toll from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake has risen to 2,719, with 4,521 people injured and more than 440 listed as missing, according to an announcement on Tuesday from Myanmar's leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar residents lack clean water, health care, shelter after quake: Red Cross official

Myanmar residents lack clean water, health care, shelter after quake: Red Cross official