BEIJING (Reuters) -Major automakers should push for “rational competition” in the electric vehicle industry, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, according to a statement from the industry ministry published on Friday.
The comments from Che Jun, head of a Communist Party central leading group, came a day after China’s cabinet pledged to regulate what it called “irrational” competition in the EV market and vowed to strengthen price-monitoring.
Che Jun spoke at a meeting attended by officials from the industry ministry and representatives from automakers BYD and BAIC Group.
Authorities in China have urged companies to stop excessive competition in the auto industry and in more recent regulatory comments, described such competition as “irrational.”
On Friday, China’s industry ministry, market regulator and state planner jointly held a separate meeting on the EV industry’s development with representatives from 17 key auto enterprises, automobile industry association and local officials.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, Editing by Andrew Heavens and Matthew Lewis)
