Xinhua News Agency, Paris, January 8 (Reporter Li Wenxin) Aro Thibaud, Beijing correspondent of Le Monde, France, published a column on the 7th saying that China has developed a “new car planet” based on technological knowledge and batteries within 20 years, which makes it difficult for Europe to compete with China in the short and medium term, but imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles will not make Europe the champion of electric vehicles.

The article stated that China has become the main body of the global electric vehicle market, and quoted data from relevant industry associations, saying that the Chinese market currently accounts for 70% of the global sales of new energy (electric and hybrid) vehicles, while in 2022, this proportion was only 52%. Since July 2024, new energy vehicles have accounted for more than half of China’s total car sales, while in Europe, new energy vehicles account for only nearly a quarter of total car sales.

The article stated that in China, the popularization of electric vehicles has promoted the installation of more charging piles, which in turn has promoted the wider use of electric vehicles. Electric vehicles have created jobs and strengthened China’s determination to push all links of the industrial chain to innovation. This is almost the virtuous cycle described by economists, and this is also what European political parties concerned about ecology call for: automobile transformation will promote economic development, rather than “punish” the economy.

The article also stated that Chinese consumers have established demand for electric vehicles, and policy speeches in support of electric vehicles have been continuous. In Europe and the United States, automakers are content with the status quo of internal combustion engines, and many political leaders find it difficult to promote electric vehicles to the public, and are even hostile to them.

As for the EU, the article stated that the EU has pledged to no longer sell fuel vehicles within the EU by 2035 and hopes to be at the forefront of climate transformation. Without some form of reflection, the EU will find it difficult to fulfill this commitment.