China’s policy playbook took its EV sector from zero to hero – can other countries follow?

China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry sits at the centre of numerous economic and geopolitical trends: consumer spending, environmental protection, trade policy, high-end manufacturing, technology and more. In this short series, we assess the current state of the sector within these broader contexts. Here, Yeon Woo Lee asks whether Beijing has written a blueprint for developing countries to kick-start their own contenders in the field.Emerging markets once seemed like also-rans in the global car industry. In the days when petrol vehicles predominated, manufacturers required vast supplier networks and hard-won expertise in engines, transmissions and other core power train technologies to compete – two advantages among many for established, wealthier players.But with a global shift towards electric engines and China’s consequent rise from automotive latecomer to EV powerhouse, that calculus has changed.