Danny Lee of Bloomberg reports that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed that firms should avoid projects that simply expand capacity. He writes:
China unveiled draft rules that appear aimed at slowing the breakneck expansion of its battery industry — a key target of US and European complaints about Chinese overcapacity.
Firms in the lithium-ion battery sector should avoid building plants that “simply expand production capacity,” the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a proposal issued on Wednesday. The document also suggests minimum standards for energy density and a range of other battery specifications.
The ministry has requested feedback on its proposal, which isn’t yet binding. […]
Beijing’s proposed new guidelines aim to accelerate the “upgrading and structural adjustment” of the battery sector, the ministry said, as well as to improve technical innovation and product quality, and to reduce production costs. Enterprises should put no less than 3% of annual investment toward research and development, according to the draft.
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