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How do you see the outstanding performance of China's new energy vehicle industry over the last year? Will such achievements continue this year? Regarding this industry, what's China's focus for its development going forward?

Xiao Yaqing:

Thanks for your question. Mr. Xin will answer it.

Xin Guobin:

Thank you. China's new energy vehicle industry developed relatively fast during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Its annual sales increased from 507,000 in 2016 to 1.367 million in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 28%. Last year, the industry witnessed an outstanding performance. The number of its output and sales of vehicles both exceeded 3.5 million, reaching 3.545 million and 3.521 million, respectively, up 1.6 times year-on-year, ranking it first in the world for seven consecutive years, with a cumulative promotion volume of over 9 million units. Since the achievements of the new energy vehicle industry in 2021 have exceeded the predictions of some experts and institutions, the public must be concerned about whether it can maintain its encouraging development trend this year. Recently, we conducted a series of research and surveys, which showed that the development of new energy vehicle industry is in line with the direction of green and low-carbon development. It has led to the expansion of industry chains such as power batteries, electric motors, and electric controls; accelerated the application of new technologies, including intelligent cockpits, automatic driving, and intelligent networks; and promoted the transformation of logistics and transportation, which brought a new experience of green travel to consumers. The ecosystem of industrial development has been gradually improved. Judging from all aspects, China's new energy vehicle industry has entered a new stage of large-scale and rapid development. Although the development is still facing some difficulties and challenges, it is expected to maintain a high growth trend this year. Next, the MIIT will give full play to the inter-departmental joint meeting mechanism on energy saving and the new energy vehicle industry and focus on the following five aspects.

First, we will improve support policies. We will step up efforts to clarify support policies such as extending purchase tax exemptions for NEVs. We will improve the "dual-credit" policy and make it effectively dovetailed with the decline of subsidies for NEV purchases to stabilize market expectations. We will compile a roadmap for the green development of the automobile industry and provide guidance and assistance to industries and companies.

Second, we will support innovative breakthroughs. We will promote the integration of electrification and intelligent, connected technologies, improve the safety, low temperature adaptation and other performances of storage batteries, step up the technological application of 5G and the vehicle infrastructure cooperative system, and develop more functions such as leisure and entertainment, life services and autonomous driving to meet the needs of consumers. We will continue to improve the product quality and driving experience of NEVs to boost consumers' sense of gain.

Third, we will promote market expansion. We will launch the pilot project in some cities to completely electrify vehicles used in the public service sector, and step up the electrification of urban logistic vehicles, taxis and sanitation trucks. Focusing on the problem of charging in old residential areas and expressways which people urgently require solving, we will work with other departments to accelerate the construction of charging and battery swap stations and other infrastructure, and promote information sharing and unified settlement to continuously improve the convenience of charging NEVs. 

Fourth, we will strengthen the guarantee of resources. We will strive to meet the production requirements for storage batteries, moderately accelerate the development of domestic lithium resources, and crack down on unfair competition such as hoarding and price gouging. Meanwhile, we will improve the system of storage battery recycling, support high-efficiency dismantling, recycling and other technological breakthroughs to continuously improve the recycling rate and resource utilization efficiency.

Fifth, we will strengthen safety supervision. We have always emphasized that safety is the prerequisite for the development of the NEV industry and that it cannot develop without safety guarantee. Therefore, we should stick to the bottom line, and improve our capabilities to guarantee functional security, data security, and network security in a comprehensive way. We will continue to improve NEV safety and technical standards, and improve battery thermal runaway warnings and the level of safety protection. We will build a systematic, scientific and standardized NEV safety management system so that consumers can be more confident about using NEVs. Thank you.