An electric car on display at the WDCC (World Design Cities Conference) in Shanghai, Sept 2023. Not the finger of God pointing at it. Such a display is nearly inconceivable in the West, where the fossil lobby is mounting a strong propaganda campaign against everything renewable or "green."
China is different for many reasons, but one is how they see technology. Unlike the Western attitude, which has come to see science and technology as inherently evil, the Chinese have a sane attitude that sees technology as something useful for people. Hence, the emphasis is on renewable energy and electric cars. At the WDCC Conference, my colleagues told me that they are convinced that photovoltaic energy is a gift that China is making to the whole world that will usher a new age of prosperity and a new culture of sustainability for everyone.
Not everything that China does agrees with this goal, and they still rely on coal for their energy supply. But the idea is there, and you know that when the Chinese decide that they want to do something, they usually succeed. And I think they will with this one!
And, as you can see, the views in the West on electric cars are different.
This sounds too pessimistic about the west, given how influential Tesla corp grows to be. "Gigafactory" Berlin alone is pretty impressive. (Older automakers are more reluctant of course, conservative old money it seems.)
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