China to continue ticking up support for NEV development: vice minister

China

China to continue ticking up support for NEV development: vice minister

2026-08-26 16:15 Last Updated At：17:47

China will step up support for the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector to further contribute to the global auto industry's transformation, Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said in Beijing on Wednesday.

Speaking at a State Council Information Office press conference, Xin said China will intensify efforts during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period to resolve key issues, including automotive product quality and autonomous driving safety.

The ministry has also formulated a development plan for the intelligent and connected NEV industry over the next five years to promote high-quality growth through a series of measures.

He said China's NEV sector has kept growing at a rapid pace in the past five years.

"During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period, the scale of China's NEV industry surged from the 1-million-unit level to the 10-million-unit level, with annual sales rising from 1.367 million units to 16.49 million units, and the share of NEV sales surging from 5.4 percent to 47.9 percent of the total new car sales. The industrial system has become increasingly comprehensive, with China's NEV output, power batteries, and key materials accounting for more than 70 percent of the global total. The international influence of China's NEV sector continues to grow, with products exported to more than 100 countries and regions," said Xin.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will further improve the quality of product supply and actively and prudently advance pilot programs for market access and on-road operation of intelligent connected vehicles, he said.

China will optimize the supporting usage environment, effectively address consumers' concerns, and ensure that consumers are willing to purchase and feel confident in using these vehicles, said the senior official.

"We will improve the industry governance system. We will step up supervision and inspection of product manufacturing consistency, effectively safeguard consumer rights and interests, and further standardize the competitive order within the industry," he said.

"We will deepen international cooperation and exchanges, make full use of multilateral and bilateral exchange mechanisms, strengthen coordination in the formulation of international standards and regulations, improve supporting infrastructure such as cross-border logistics and investment and financing, and steadily advance international trade and investment cooperation, thereby making China deliver more contributions to the transformation and upgrading of the global automotive industry," said Xin.

China braces for dual typhoon threat as Saudel approaches coast

China faced twin storms Wednesday, with Typhoon Saudel threatening the east and Narra dissipating after days of heavy rain in the south.

Typhoon Narra, this year's 19th named storm, made landfall as a tropical storm in Changjiang County on the southern island province of Hainan Tuesday evening. The system then crossed the Leizhou Peninsula and made a second landfall in Xuwen County, south China's Guangdong Province, at approximately 03:25 on Wednesday.

By 05:00, it had weakened into a tropical depression before moving into the northwestern South China Sea.

In a rare trajectory, the lingering system turned northward and made a third landfall around 11:00 Wednesday along the coast of Wuchuan, Guangdong Province, packing maximum sustained winds near the center of force 6 on the Beaufort scale. It continued moving northward while weakening rapidly.

Meteorologists described Narra as a "lingering type" typhoon with an unusual path.

Although its wind intensity remained relatively modest, the storm demonstrated exceptional rainfall-producing capacity, having stalled over the Beibu Gulf for several days and delivering persistent torrential rain to Guangxi and surrounding regions.

By this afternoon, the remnants of Narra had further weakened across Guangdong, making it difficult for forecasters to identify its circulation center. The National Meteorological Center (NMC) ceased issuing advisories and removed the storm's designation at 14:00 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Saudel, the 18th storm of the season, poses a growing threat to China's eastern coast. The system entered the East China Sea early Wednesday morning. As of 13:00 Wednesday, Saudel's center was located approximately 640 kilometers east of the Zhejiang-Fujian border over the northwestern Pacific, with maximum sustained winds of 14 on the Beaufort scale, classifying it as a strong typhoon.

The NMC forecasts that Saudel will continue moving west-northwest at 10 to 15 kilometers per hour with little change in intensity.

Beginning Wednesday morning, the storm is expected to turn west-southwest, slow its forward speed, and gradually approach the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

Landfall is predicted between Wednesday night and Thursday morning somewhere along the coast between Xiangshan, Zhejiang, and Fuqing, Fujian.

Authorities have maintained an orange typhoon warning - the second-highest alert level in China's four-tier system - as preparations continue along the threatened coastline.