China strengthens support for autonomous driving technology as Beijing passes new regulations

BEIJING -- Beijing on Tuesday approved new regulations on autonomous vehicles, set to take effect on April 1, 2025, marking significant progress in advancing autonomous vehicle technologies in the Chinese capital amid the country's efforts to support the industry further.

The regulations, passed by the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People's Congress, explicitly encourage and support policies and measures for technological innovation and industrial development in autonomous vehicles.

The guidelines also cover areas such as infrastructure planning and construction, on-road traffic management and safety assurance, providing a clear regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles equipped with Level 3 and higher systems.

Hu Fangfang, director of the automobile testing department of the Beijing Products Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, participated in the legislative process. She said that the new regulations summarize the operational experiences from earlier stages and introduce an annual inspection system for autonomous vehicles running in the city.

"Traditional vehicle inspections lack coverage for intelligent systems. The new evaluation framework will further ensure the safety of these vehicles," she said.

According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, the regulations noted legal responsibilities related to failure to perform routine maintenance and inspections on operational vehicles, along with stipulations of penalties for other violations, such as "unauthorized use of autonomous vehicles for road testing without approval," and "non-compliance in appointing qualified safety operators or platform safety monitors."

During a press conference on Tuesday, the commission said that the construction of intelligent roadside infrastructure for autonomous driving could be advanced by upgrading existing roadside facilities.

Liu Yu, deputy general manager of Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd (BAIC), said that the legislation has boosted the confidence of related companies in continued investment and will encourage automakers to increase investment, accelerate technological iterations, and continuously enhance the consumer experience.

In recent years, Beijing, with nearly 21.9 million residents and 7.6 million automobiles, has emerged as a national leader in autonomous vehicle development.

Since the launch of China's first high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone in September 2020, the city has successfully developed intelligent infrastructure across 600 square km. The capital is also home to leading companies in the field, including Baidu, Pony.ai and Neolix.

The demonstration zone has issued road test permits to 33 companies, covering nearly 900 vehicles with a combined autonomous driving test mileage of over 32 million kilometers, accounting for over a quarter of the total national autonomous test mileage.

By the end of August, Chinese public security authorities had issued 16,000 test licenses for autonomous vehicles, with some 32,000 kilometers of roads nationwide opened for autonomous vehicle testing, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, hosting the headquarters of BYD and Huawei, became the first city in China to permit autonomous vehicles on public roads following the implementation of regulations on intelligent connected vehicles in August 2022.