Update | China to green light more self-driving car tests amid US caution after Uber fatality

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released national guidelines for smart internet connected cars, giving local authorities a freer hand to arrange road tests for autonomous vehicles.

Provincial and municipal governments can evaluate local conditions to choose test areas for autonomous cars, issue licence plates and need only brief the MIIT, Ministry of Public security and Transportation Ministry twice a year on the road tests, according to the guidelines, which are effective May 1.

“Developing smart internet connected cars has great significance to China,” Xin Guobin, vice minister of MIIT, said at a briefing on Thursday. “The US, Europe, and Japan have all made smart cars an important focus.”

Autonomous driving is one of the areas where China and the US are competing for leadership, part of a broader contest for supremacy in the next generation of technologies that are revolutionising the way people work, live and play. Self-driving cars are increasingly seen as the holy grail of applied technology because they must be proven safe in unpredictable real-world conditions. A fatal accident involving an Uber Technologies autonomous car in Arizona in March triggered the temporary suspension of such tests by several US operators.

The launch of the Chinese guidelines are timely as regulations have been issued around the world to propel the development of autonomous cars to the next level, said Xin.

“Local authorities can arrange road tests based on their specific conditions and coordinate all parties more conveniently,” said Xin. “Enhancing transportation safety and substantially bringing down accidents should be the priority for smart cars. Safety is not only a premise but also a bottom line.”