China mulls free license plates new-energy cars

China is to lift restrictions on the issuance of new license plates for buyers of new-energy vehicles, a move aimed at putting more green vehicles on the country's roads. According to a statement jointly issued on Friday by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Development and Reform Commission, new-energy cars will be exempt from the current license plate and traffic restrictions in some major cities. Under a pilot scheme, 25 Chinese cities -- including Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian and Guangzhou -- have been urged to encourage the purchase and use of environmentally friendly vehicles. The pilot cities are to map out infrastructure projects to set up electric charging posts in parking lots. As of the end of this year, the State Grid will build 75 charging stations and over 6,000 charging posts. The number of stations is supposed to surge to 400 by 2016 and 10,000 by 2020. New-energy vehicles are a promising prospect for a low-carbon society. They also show prominence in China's 12th Five-year Plan and attract much attention amid the present sluggish world economy. The 2011 New Energy Vehicles Conference is to open in Beijing from Dec.21 to 22, organizers of the conference said on Friday. China is working out policy-oriented, financial and technological measures in the research and development of new-energy vehicles, and the country bears the potential to become the world's largest new-energy vehicle market, according to the organizers. However, China is in huge need of high-end professional talents in the sector, according to Prof. Chen Qingquan, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.