To some extent, China is making a virtue of a liability. It is behind the United States, Japan and other countries when it comes to making gas-powered vehicles, but by skipping the current technology, China hopes to get a jump on the next.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/business/global/02electric.html?_r=1&hp
Smart idea, skip the current technology and jump to the one that counts.