HONG KONG/BEIJING (June 19): China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Wednesday issued new guidelines for its lithium-ion battery industry, aiming to transform, upgrade and promote high-quality development amid rapid expansion in the sector.

The guidelines, following a proposal in May, will help firms scale back manufacturing projects that only expand production capacity, while enhancing technology innovation and product quality and trimming output costs, the ministry said.

Projects built on farmland and ecological zones would be required to be shut down, or strictly reined in and gradually removed.

Rapid expansion of production capacity along the lithium battery supply chain has led to a plunge in prices for products, including battery and raw materials, eroding companies' profits in the world's biggest market.

Industry planning and launch of new projects should be in line with national development of resources, ecological protection and energy saving management, the ministry said.

The new guidelines will be effective from Thursday.

  - Reuters