By Paul Lienert, Nick Carey and Norihiko Shirouzu DETROIT/BEIJING (Reuters) – A year ago Tesla dismissed the alternative path of electric car battery swapping as “riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use”. It seems Beijing disagrees. In fact, China is pushing hard for swappable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) as a supplement to regular vehicle charging, with the government throwing its weight behind several companies advancing the technology. Four companies – automakers Nio and Geely, battery swap developer Aulton and state-owned oil producer Sinopec – say they plan to es…