Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I saw an article recently claiming that
in the near future electric car manufacturers will be allowed to operate in China without having to share their technology. Previously, and currently still, foreign car manufacturers can only operate in China as a joint venture. In this posited near future, e-car manufacturing won't have to have a Chinese partner. Sounds kind of revolutionary, so I might be getting the details wrong, but I think that was the gist.
But... if China's leadership wants electric vehicles and international companies are going to keep betting on petrol vehicles, then kinda sorta seems to me like leaving that technology on the table. One future, one I *might* bet on, looks like car companies outside China are going to turn around in a few years and find themselves out of this loop.
http://sustainability.thomsonreuters.com/2016/09/06/in-chinas-electric-car-boom-global-automakers-select-different-gear/One assumption I'm making, which might be questionable, is that whatever battery and power tech does appear will find its way into Chinese hands whether it wants to be there or not. Maybe Chinese agents are not as super stealthy as all that, and maybe shanzhai is the only way these companies really can go, but ...
wild leap... Baidu/Tencent/Alibaba are no long mere clones. If the gov really does push for e-tech and really does prop up these car companies until they make it.......