Major automakers should push for "rational competition" in the electric vehicle industry, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday, according to a statement from the industry ministry published on Friday. The comments from Che Jun, head of a Communist Party central leading group, came a day after China's cabinet pledged to regulate what it called "irrational" competition in the EV market and vowed to strengthen price-monitoring. Che Jun spoke at a meeting attended by officials from the industry ministry and representatives from automakers BYD and BAIC Group.