BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China has set a dedicated chapter on autonomous vehicles in its draft revisions to the Road Traffic Safety Law, seeking to strengthen the legal framework for its rapidly developing autonomous driving sector.
The draft defines autonomous vehicles and driver-assistance functions, clarifies the conditions for autonomous vehicles to operate on public roads, sets principles for handling traffic violations, and outlines insurance arrangements for such vehicles.
It specifies that when a road traffic safety violation occurs while an autonomous vehicle's autonomous-driving function is activated, the vehicle's manufacturer or importer shall be responsible for handling the violation.
The draft stipulates that autonomous vehicles operating on public roads with their autonomous-driving functions not activated, as well as vehicles equipped only with driver-assistance functions, will be subject to the same rules as non-autonomous vehicles.
Experts say the revision of the Road Traffic Safety Law clarifies liability for autonomous vehicles under different operating scenarios, laying a solid legal foundation for expanding pilot programs and advancing commercial applications.
The drafting of the new rules is also seen as a move to balance road safety, the development of the autonomous driving industry, and traffic efficiency.
The draft specifies that the state supports safe, orderly, and well-regulated road testing, demonstration, and operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads.
The rapid growth of China's NEV industry has also accelerated the evolution of intelligent driving systems, with advances in technologies such as high-performance chips and advanced LiDAR sensors supporting increasingly sophisticated functions.
China's intelligent and connected vehicle industry has emerged as an international front-runner, driven by policy support, technological innovation, cross-sector collaboration and strong market demand, said Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
These advantages have helped China accelerate the development and application of autonomous-driving technologies, he said.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, passenger vehicles equipped with Level 2 combined driver-assistance functions had a penetration rate of 70.5 percent this year.
The first batch of Level 3 conditional automated-driving vehicles has begun operating on public roads in designated areas.
More than 57,000 km of roads across China have been opened for autonomous-driving testing and demonstration, with vehicles having accumulated more than 220 million km of testing mileage, according to the ministry.
The draft was submitted for its first reading to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, which runs from Tuesday to Friday.
The current Road Traffic Safety Law took effect in 2004, with individual provisions amended in 2007, 2011 and 2021. The latest draft represents a more substantial revision, aimed at keeping pace with economic and social development, addressing people's needs and enhancing road safety.
Other changes include raising the maximum speed limit for electric bicycles on non-motorized vehicle lanes from 15 km/h to 20 km/h, as well as new provisions prohibiting drivers from making or answering calls on handheld phones or watching videos while driving.
The draft prohibits abandoning motor vehicles on roads and producing, importing or selling vehicles that fail to meet mandatory national standards.
By the end of June 2026, China had 476 million registered motor vehicles and 567 million licensed drivers. NEVs accounted for 13.19 percent of the country's total car fleet. China has set a target for NEVs to account for around 30 percent of the country's car fleet by 2030. ■
