The State Council issued a guideline on Oct 9 to speed up the construction of electric car-charging infrastructure to support the development of the new-energy automobile industry.

The construction of such facilities will help to tackle charging difficulties faced by owners of electric cars, boost entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as providing more public goods and services, according to a statement issued by the General Office of the State Council.

Under the guideline, by 2020, a charging infrastructure system will be established to meet the demand of more than 5 million electric cars; regulations and supervision will be improved to form an open and fairly competitive market and a group of globally competitive enterprises that provide charging services will be fostered.

To ensure these goals, the State Council required more efforts in speeding up the construction through efficient planning and encouraging the building of charging facilities in residential areas as well as parking areas near office buildings and public areas.

It also demanded better services to support the construction work. For example, an intelligent service platform will be established to develop “Internet Plus charging infrastructure”, to increase efficiency and improve user experience.

The government will also strengthen support to guarantee the construction through measures such as streamlining approvals, implementing preferential policies and expanding financing channels.

According to the guideline, local authorities are responsible for promoting and managing the construction of charging infrastructure. They are required to release special plans in this regard by the end of March 2016.