On May 6th, the Executive Meeting of the State Council deliberated and approved the opinions on accelerating the development of advanced manufacturing clusters, deploying to accelerate the construction of charging infrastructure, and better support the rural revitalization of new energy vehicles.

　　Image source: CCTV news screenshot

　　The meeting pointed out that the rural new energy vehicle market has a vast space, and accelerating the construction of charging infrastructure is not only conducive to promoting the purchase and use of new energy vehicles, unleashing rural consumption potential, but also conducive to the development of new business forms such as rural tourism, adding new impetus to rural revitalization. The meeting reviewed and approved the implementation opinions on accelerating the construction of charging infrastructure, better supporting the rural development of new energy vehicles, and rural revitalization.

　　The meeting emphasized the need to focus on the prominent bottlenecks that constrain the entry of new energy vehicles into rural areas, moderately advance the construction of charging infrastructure, innovate the construction, operation, and maintenance models of charging infrastructure, and ensure that "there are people to build, people to manage, and sustainable". We should guide enterprises to sink into sales and service networks, encourage vocational colleges to cultivate maintenance technicians in rural areas, and meet the growing demand for new energy vehicle maintenance. We need to further optimize policies that support the purchase and use of new energy vehicles, encourage enterprises to enrich the supply of new energy vehicles, and strengthen safety supervision to promote the healthy development of the rural new energy vehicle market.

　　In 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued a notice requiring the organization of new energy vehicles' going to the countryside activities', which will be organized and implemented by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers; Subsequently, the National Energy Administration also joined the ranks of organizational units. According to Xu Haidong, Deputy Chief Engineer of the China Automobile Association, from 2020 to 2022, new energy vehicles launched 18 launch events in 10 provinces (cities), releasing a total of 6 batches of nearly 200 models for rural use.

　　During this period, new energy vehicles entering the countryside entered a stage of rapid growth. According to statistics from the China Automobile Association, during the three years of the "Going to the Countryside Campaign", it has driven the cumulative sales of over 4.1 million new energy vehicles, from 397000 in 2020 to 1.068 million in 2021; By 2022, it will reach 2.6598 million vehicles, boosting the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China to a level of 7 million vehicles.

　　In addition, the meeting also pointed out that developing advanced manufacturing clusters is an important means to promote industries towards mid to high end, enhance the resilience and safety level of the industrial chain supply chain, and facilitate the formation of scale effects and competitive advantages such as collaborative innovation, talent aggregation, cost reduction and efficiency enhancement. We need to prioritize the development of advanced manufacturing clusters, adhere to the principle of national unity, guide various regions to leverage their comparative advantages, and make efforts in specialization, differentiation, and specialization, achieving something and not doing something. We need to coordinate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the cultivation and growth of emerging industries, promote technological innovation and transformation applications, promote high-end, intelligent, and green transformation, expand the group of high-quality enterprises, and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system. We must adhere to a better combination of effective markets and promising governments, and strive to create a good ecosystem for industrial development.