New regulations covering electric bikes required

Visitors view AIMA e-bikes at a new energy expo in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Tianjin AIMA Bikes Co Ltd is a leading e-bike maker in China, with annual sales of more than 3 million units.[ZHEN HUAI / FOR CHINA DAILY]

Xu Jia'ai, director of the public security department of East China's Zhejiang province and a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, has called for better management of electric bicycles. Beijing Times said on Wednesday:

Cheap electric bikes powered by big batteries have become a necessity for a considerable number of Chinese, especially for people making deliveries, who, to some extent, rely on such bikes for their livelihoods.

Against the backdrop of China's urbanization and the increasing restrictions on purchasing and driving cars and motorcycles, more people are resorting to electric bikes.

Yet, the relevant regulations, which have not changed in more than 16 years, lag far behind the production and promotion of these vehicles. Accordingly, it is estimated about 90 percent of today's electric bikes do not meet the national standards.

It is time the authorities strengthened their management over electric bikes, most of which are being produced, sold, and used with little oversight.