FILE PHOTO: A charging cable is seen hooked to a car at a State Grid Corporation of China charging point for electric vehicles in Beijing, China March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will push ahead with the development of China’s hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicle industry, a government official said on Tuesday, as part of wider efforts to promote green energy in the world’s largest auto market.

“Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and pure electric vehicles with lithium batteries are important technical routes for new energy vehicles,” said Huang Libin, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Pure electric vehicles are more suitable for urban and short-distance passenger travel, while hydrogen fuel cells are more suitable for long-distance and large commercial vehicles, Huang said.

“We believe that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and pure electric vehicles will coexist and complement each other for a long time to meet the needs of transportation and people’s travel,” Huang said.

Senior industry executives and academics in China have urged the government to support hydrogen fuel cell technology due to its suitability for commercial vehicles.

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp plans to supply fuel cell components to China’s commercial vehicle makers after launching a joint research institute with Tsinghua University last week.