Chinese scientists are reporting that they have made progress in the development of electric vehicles, designed to be pollution-free, with the commercialization of such cars being listed as a key part of the country's science plan for the next ten years.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is reporting that the first experimental fuel cell-powered car has already been developed, with the hope being that clean and environmentally-friendly vehicles can be introduced during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan in Hubei Province, and Weihai in Shandong Province have been selected as pilot areas to employ a number of electric buses. Several such buses are already running in Wuhan, the department said. By 2007, commercialization of such buses should be realized in Beijing and Shanghai, and expanded to 10 other cities by 2015.