Autonomous driving law urged as testing underway

A passenger experiences a self-driving vehicle at Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in Beijing on April 25, 2022. PENG ZIYANG/XINHUA More efforts are needed to speed up legislation around autonomous driving technology and bolster the large-scale commercial application of self-driving vehicles, political advisers and experts said. Lian Yuming, president of the Beijing-based International Institute for Urban Development, said autonomous driving is a tech frontier deeply integrated with new-generation information technologies, including artificial intelligence, edge computing, mobile communications and smart cities. Noting that autonomous driving technology is an important pillar of intelligent manufacturing and vital to smart city development, Lian, who is also a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, said accelerating the legislative process for self-driving technology has become the top priority for bolstering the development of the autonomous driving industry. Lyu said clear regulations at the national level will encourage local governments and autonomous driving companies to quicken the use of self-driving technology, which is crucial for achieving commercialization targets.