Manufacturing

China will launch a development plan in energy-saving and the new-energy vehicle industry to make the country a leader in the sector over the next 10 years, with government funding of 100 billion yuan ($15.28 billion).

The long-expected plan, jointly drafted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission, has been submitted to the State Council for final approval, said Su Bo, vice-minister of the MIIT.

According to the draft plan, which has a specific focus on hybrid and pure-electric vehicles, China is aiming for the top position in the global new-energy vehicle sector with sales volumes of 5 million units by 2020, as the government plans to invest in core technologies to build a strong and competitive new-energy vehicle industry chain.

The draft plan also said that during the country's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), China aims to have a production capability of 1 million new-energy vehicles, with pure-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounting for 50 percent.

China's second lunar satellite, the Chang'e-2, has been safely operating for 180 days as of April 1, and has reached its six-month designed life, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

A series of photo released online shows that the PLA have new Armed Helicopter - WZ10. The WZ10 is not a concept or design on paper, it fly in the air now.

Chinese battery and automobile producer BYD Co. is scrambling to make a last-minute design change to its all-electric battery car and is now aiming to make the car available to private buyers in California and possibly a few other "key U.S. states" by 2012 after test marketing the car in Southern California during the second half of this year, said company Chairman and founder Wang Chuanfu in an interview.

The redesign of the car—called the e6—even before it is launched in the U.S. comes as a result of BYD's decision to improve the car's rear seating area and means the U.S. test marketing and launch of the electric car would be delayed, in the end, by about a year.

The company was aiming to begin the test marketing in California during the second half of last year. The e6 debuted in China last March as taxis in Shenzhen.

Though BYD is more known for its ambition in electric cars, the home-grown Chinese company sells mostly gasoline-fueled vehicles in China and is one of that country's top auto brands, with sales of more than 500,000 vehicles last year.