BYD: Opting for Electric Autos

Caixin Century Weekly

August 25

Thanks to a series of policies favorable to new-energy automobiles issued in late 2013, these vehicles are again becoming the focus of China's car market. Privately owned hi-tech company BYD presented its plug-in hybrid vehicle, Qin, in December 2013, and sales of the car have since skyrocketed. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 orders have come in for BYD's electrically powered K9 bus, with expected total sales reaching 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion). Comparatively, prior to 2014, BYD had sold just over 1,000 of these buses in total. Are such figures a hint that a rise in electrically powered automobiles is on the horizon?

Despite increased sales, conflicts remain. Petroleum and other traditional industries are opponents of purely electric vehicles, as the development of such vehicles squeezes out space for traditional ones. Yet in China, due to the shortage of charging stations, the room for growth of fully electrically powered automobiles is limited. People are afraid that these cars might break down, with nowhere nearby to charge them. Plug-in hybrid vehicles like BYD's Qin can potentially alleviate worries over car charging. In the coming decades, such vehicles may even become the mainstream mode of private transportation.

Air pollution levels necessitate the use of more environmentally friendly vehicles, and China has now produced systematic policies that give priority to electrically powered buses in public transportation. BYD's goals coincide with the government's push.

Shenzhen: A City Powered by Innovation

Outlook Weekly

September 1

While many local governments across China are struggling to cope with the decline of investment-driven growth, Shenzhen has explored a new path. Fixed asset investment accounts for less than 20 percent of local GDP. Comparatively, scientific research funding represents more than 4 percent of its GDP, even higher than that of most developed countries. Its GDP growth rate in the first half of the year reached 8 percent, higher than the country's average.

Indeed, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, established shortly after China adopted its reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s, is gradually losing the policy privileges that it used to boast. A larger advantage is taking shape there: Local economic development is being pushed to a higher level by various scientific and technological innovations. A number of resident hi-tech companies like Tencent, Huawei and ZTE Corp. are now expanding their markets out to the rest of the country and even around the world.

The key to industrializing scientific and technological progress is the integration of technology and capital. Outstanding human resources are essential. In the first half of the year, Shenzhen recruited more than 2,000 professionals with an overseas education in areas such as finance, information technology and computer science, up 63 percent compared with the same period last year.

Rising Need to Protect Most Vulnerable

Yangcheng Evening News

September 1

Over the month of August, tragedies befalling several college-age women gained wide public attention. For instance, a 20-year-old woman in southwest China's Chongqing was killed by the driver of an unlicensed taxi. Another female college student in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, was held captive and sexually abused by the driver of an unlicensed scooter after taking a ride with him. She suffered serious injuries.

Surely these young women did not deserve such tragic destinies and inhumane treatment at the hands of others. In cities with insufficient public transport systems, unlicensed taxis run rampant. A public education campaign is needed to steer people of all ages away from these dangerous, unlawful drivers. Loopholes in the public security network are also to be blamed. Self-protection only goes so far, and mechanisms should be put in place in populous cities to safeguard those most at risk, like these young women.