TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China will tighten the rules for exporting electric vehicles by requiring automakers to obtain export permits from next year, the Commerce Ministry said Friday.

The export licenses, required from Jan. 1, are intended to “promote the healthy development of the new energy vehicle trade,” the ministry said in a statement.

The controls come as Beijing is trying to rein in the electric vehicle sector in the world’s largest auto market.

China is also the largest car exporter, selling about 5.5 million vehicles abroad last year, of which nearly 40% were EVs.

The United States and European Union members are among countries to have imposed tariffs on made-in-China electric vehicles, saying that government subsidies have given them an unfair advantage.

In recent months, Be

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