China boosts its tech prowess

CATL, a leading battery maker, showcasing its technology at an auto trade show in Shanghai last year. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

CHINA’s domination of electric cars was born decades ago in university laboratories in Texas when researchers discovered how to make batteries with minerals that were abundant and cheap.

Companies from China have recently built on those early discoveries, figuring out how to make the batteries hold a powerful charge and endure more than a decade of daily recharges.