China had installed over 13 million electric vehicle (EV) charging units nationwide by the end of January 2025, marking a whooping 49.1 percent increase year on year, the China EV Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance reported on Monday.
In January alone, 395,000 new units were added, a 49.5 percent year-on-year rise, bringing the total count to 13.21 million.
A large portion of this growth came from public charging pile increase, with 181,000 new units installed last month, representing a staggering 222.5 percent increase year on year. Meanwhile, the number of private charging poles grew by 214,000 units nationwide, a more modest 2.9 percent increase year on year. According to the alliance, the country's charging infrastructure is basically able to meet the demand of the rapidly expanding EV market. Public charging infrastructure is particularly concentrated in 10 of the 31 provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland including Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Shandong in the economically more developed southern and eastern parts of the country, which together account for 68 percent of the national total.
The expansion of charging facilities comes amid surging demand for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China, with both production and sales surpassing 12 million units in 2024.
China has maintained its position as the world's leading NEV market for 10 consecutive years.
China’s EV charging units top 13 million amid market boom
Two U.S. F-18 fighter jets entered Venezuelan airspace on Tuesday, circling for about 40 minutes.
The jets flew within 100 miles (about 161 km) of Maracaibo, Venezuela's second-largest city which is home to Rafael Urdaneta Air Base, one of the main military air bases in western Venezuela, according to a report from the Miami Herald.
Data from Sweden's FlightRadar24 showed the jets flying over the northern tip of Lake Maracaibo, above the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela, and between the cities of La Guajira, in Zulia state, and Coro, the capital of Falcon state. Zulia state is a key oil and gas producing region in Venezuela, while Falcon state has some of the country’s biggest refineries.
FlightRadar24 data also showed a U.S. MQ-4C Triton drone flying close to Venezuela’s coast on Tuesday, although it did not appear to enter Venezuelan airspace.
Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil warned on Tuesday that the U.S. actions pose an extremely serious challenge to regional security and peace.
The president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez Gomez, said that the U.S. military activities around the country were not intended to "combat drug trafficking", as the U.S, claims, but to attack and destroy Venezuela.
Iran warned that the recent situation poses a threat to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by telephone on Tuesday and reiterated his country's "willingness to stand by Venezuela", the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry reported.
Pezeshkian also said that U.S. provocations of Venezuela "violate the principles of international law and constitute a dangerous precedent for the peoples of the world."
U.S. fighter jets enter Venezuelan airspace as tensions escalate
