China’s annual Two Sessions meeting has concluded outlining the economic goals and policy directions for the year in the world’s second largest economy. The meetings put a strong emphasis on future technologies, financial stability and consumer driven demand growth, with China seeking to further improve its positioning on the world stage. The meeting also gave insights into the thoughts of major EV & battery company leaders.
What are the Two Sessions?
The Two Sessions are the annual meetings of China’s two key political bodies, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The NPC is China’s top legislative body, responsible for enacting laws, approving budgets, and making major policy decisions. While the CPPCC is an advisory body with representatives from various sectors, providing recommendations on national policies without legislative power.
Take aways from the CPPCC
China’s energy transition sector is growing massively and the CPPCC heard from key battery and EV companies.
Batteries
The CEO of CATL advocated for improved pricing mechanisms within the energy storage market to widen peak-valley price gaps. He also called for enhanced safety regulations in the industry, and the expansion of ancillary service transactions to optimise market participation. Separately, CALB called for a focus on fair competition by addressing patent misuse and regulate malicious patent litigation within the battery space. Further to this, Gotion mentioned that lithium battery transportation regulations should be altered for enhanced efficiency and safety.
Key Read: Key takeaways from the EU’s Automotive Industry Action Plan
The EV ecosystem
Tianneng brought up the suggestion of building a system to track the entire life cycle of batteries by constructing a digital traceability system with inputs from battery manufacturers, recyclers and EV companies.
Both Geely and GAC mentioned the need for an expansion of EV swapping infrastructure as well as market standardisation for stations and battery units, indicating their thoughts on potential growth areas for the EV market.
Lastly Xiaomi advocated for an acceleration of the roll out of autonomous vehicles as well as the establishment of universal technical standards for in-vehicle hardware.
Key Read: The realities of the battery recycling market, four key challenges Chinese recyclers are facing
Take aways 3 the NPC
The work report presented at the NPC gave a number of notable insights regarding the government’s policy.
A loose monetary policy
The government aims to maintain a “moderately loose monetary policy” with space to reduce the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) and interest rates while maintaining ample liquidity. This could allow further expansion of new energy industries as reduced interest rates and more accessible credit encourages investment. Chinese EV & battery companies had a positive reaction when the central government initially reduced the RRR in September 2024.
Key Read: Chinese EV & Battery players look to Hong Kong to raise funds ahead of global expansion
Expanding domestic consumer demand
Expanding consumer demand is key to the government’s growth targets, with many viewing it as the most important topic of the two sessions. China’s Ministry of Finance plans to increase its issuance of ultra-long-term special government to RMB1.3 trillion (USD179 billion). Of this RMB300 billion (USD41.3 billion) will be used to support and expand the government’s trade in scheme. The trade in scheme has been key for expanding EV demand in the country. In 2024, total applications for the EV trade in scheme exceeded four million according to Rho Motion’s EV and Battery Quarterly Outlook.
AI integration
The government also aims to “cultivate and expand emerging industries and future industries” putting a strong emphasis on “embodied intelligence” or AI in industry. Within the EV and battery industry this could lead to smarter and more efficient products and production methods essential for further expansion of industry.
More Information
For more information about the Chinese EV and batteries markets and global supply chains see our research or get in touch.
Source: https://rhomotion.com/news/chinas-annual-two-sessions-puts-a-focus-on-future-technology/
