It makes a lot of sense from a geopolitical point of view.

Because of where China is positioned in the world and the natural resources available (or not available, so to speak) to it on its own soil, they are very dependent on imports of all kinds, especially energy. China has been adopting renewables at a breakneck pace compared to the rest of the world, but it’s not out of some altruistic mission to be carbon free (well, not entirely at least) - it’s so that the country will not self-destruct if an adversary blocks critical sea lanes. If your country runs on electric and you don’t have to rely (as much) on oil and gas coming from thousands of miles away then you are much more secure.

It’s also a powerful way to help build up domestic consumption. China has no shortage of mid-level manufacturing capacity to build out the components needed for EV’s. This allows domestic firms to purchase parts and materials from other domestic firms - keeping it in the family, so to speak. China’s economy has been dependent on massive infrastructure spending for the better part of 3 decades and it’s lead to crazy distortions in the real estate market with ghost cities and the like. The Belt and Road Initiative was largely a way to find more work for China’s construction industry, but it stalled out for a variety of reasons. A big national electrification push might be another project to keep the economy going while providing some meaningful benefits to the country.

I also see it as a way to bypass the preference that the Chinese market has often had for foreign cars. No one wants a BYD if they can afford a BMW. But going all-in on EV can allow a Chinese brand to make the argument that they are leap-frogging past the traditional foreign heavyweights by being faster at building the products of the future.