China is giving its already fast-growing alternative fuel vehicle (NEV) sector a further boost: more and more super-fast charging stations are springing up across the country as the rapid expansion of the Chinese electric vehicle market continues.

By the end of July, the total number of charging stations across China had reached 10.6 million units, an increase of 53 percent year-on-year. High-power charging stations are currently becoming the new highlight of the industry.

As the demand for electric vehicles in China increases rapidly, these direct current (DC) chargers can deliver much higher charging power compared to the more common alternating current (AC) chargers, enabling much faster charging times.

These charging stations, featuring public high-power DC columns of over 120 kilowatts and super-charging columns of over 480 kilowatts, are often located along highways and in urban areas and allow electric vehicle users to quickly charge their cars in just a few minutes.

“By the end of July this year, the total number of charging infrastructure has exceeded 10 million units, with public ones accounting for more than one-third of them. Within the public charging infrastructure, the number of DC charging piles accounts for more than 55 percent, an increase of over 45 percent year-on-year,” said Tong Zongqi, deputy secretary-general of the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance (EVCIPA).

Drivers’ need for electrical energy is so great that local authorities in Beijing intend to build 500 fast-charging stations throughout the capital by the end of the year, and the number is expected to rise to 1,000 by the end of 2025.

“The total number of alternative-fuel vehicles is expected to reach 40 million by the end of next year and 100 million by 2030. As alternative-fuel vehicles develop rapidly, charging infrastructure will be built with increasingly sophisticated functions,” Tong said.

He added that a total of 500,000 fast-charging stations are expected to be built by the end of next year to complement the charging infrastructure already built across China.

China boosts fast-growing NEV sector with superfast charging infrastructure

The ports of southern China’s Guangdong province are currently bustling with activity after the annual summer moratorium on fishing in the South China Sea was lifted on Friday.

In the city of Zhanjiang, which is bordered by the sea on three sides and has a coastline of over 2,000 kilometers, the first group of fishing boats returned early in the morning with loaded catches and arrived at the port of Tianguang to the eager anticipation of buyers and customers.

“The sea water is saltier here, so the crab meat tastes better,” said a fisherwoman at the market.

In another part of the port fish market, customers rushed to chill and package fresh seafood for delivery.

“One box weighs 50 jin (25 kilograms). Business is going well at the moment – we have sold around 300 boxes from the latest sea catch alone,” said the owner of a seafood delivery service.

After the end of the fishing moratorium, activity in the ports of Guangdong is increasing again