U.S. -China trade talks resume amid ongoing economic tensions
The world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, remain mired in a trade war, with experts suggesting that a call scheduled for Frida...
China is tightening regulations on battery-powered vehicles and will require its automakers to comply with higher battery safety standards, aiming to reduce risks of fire and explosions in the fast-growing sector.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday issued a set of technical standards for the batteries in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which make up more than half of new car sales in the country.
The rules set out stricter mandatory tests which will require companies to ensure their batteries won't catch fire or explode in tests with a specified time period, seeking to reduce risks for drivers, passengers and surrounding properties due to what is termed "thermal runaway", the most common cause of battery-related fire.
The standards, said to have been approved by regulators in March but not publicly available until now, are to be implemented from July 2026. They update a current version dating from 2020 that mandates a five-minute warning if an EV is at risk of catching fire.
They also add new tests relating to crash impacts and tolerance of fast charging.
Sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids, known collectively as new energy vehicles (NEVs), have been outselling gasoline cars intermittently on a monthly basis in China since last year. This far exceeds Beijing's goal set up in 2015 for NEV sales to make up 20% of total sales by 2025, which was revised five years later to more than 50% by 2035, thanks to government policy support over more than a decade.
A CCTV report in June 2024 said the chances of EVs and hybrids catching fire were lower than gasoline vehicles, despite social media boosts of unverified fire accidents involving NEVs being common in China.
A fatal crash in March involving a sedan made by Xiaomi (1810.HK), opens new tab - which caught fire after hitting a roadside pole at a speed of 97 km/h, with its advance driving assistance system switched on - triggered wide discussions about EV safety in China.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Germany's parliament approved on Thursday the nation's first annual budget since sweeping reforms to loosen fiscal rules were passed earlier this year, securing record investments to revive the economy while committing to an increase in defence spending.
European shares nudged up on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered borrowing costs for the first time since December, while shares of SIG plummeted after the Swiss-based company issued a profit warning.
Meta Platforms on Wednesday launched its first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in display, seeking to extend the momentum of its Ray-Ban line, one of the early consumer hits of the artificial intelligence (AI) era.
Entrepreneur Nelson Yang is reaching back into Taiwan's history to turn the humble banana plant into an unlikely sustainable textile. Taiwan is now the world's dominant producer of advanced semiconductors but the yellow fruit, still widely grown on the island, was once a source of patriotic pride.
Google said on Tuesday it would make £5 billion pounds ($6.80 billion) in new investments into Britain ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to the country, which is expected to feature a flurry of business deals and partnerships.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment