Smart transportation in China - what is the current situation?
Transportation is at the forefront of new applications being developed for smart cities in China. The pace of technological change has been rapid, with the Chinese government introducing new policies to create a favourable environment for smart transportation development.
As part of this, industry and enterprises have collaborated with the government to develop new initiatives and launch demonstration projects to accelerate the deployment of smart transportation.
Issued in 2015, the government's “Made in China 2025” strategy has acted as the foundation for later policy and planning. It emphasised the integration of new ICT technology into manufacturing and intelligent vehicle development.
Since then, various plans have been released to spur on smart transport in the country. These include:
- The “Implementation Plan to Promote Smart Transportation by Carrying Forward Internet Plus Convenient Transportation”, announced in August 2016 by the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) and the National Development and Reform Commission;
- The “13th Five-Year Plan for Modern Comprehensive Transportation System”, announced in February 2017. This calls for a safe, efficient, green, and modern integrated transport system by 2020.
- The “Medium- and Long-term Development Plan for the Automobile Industry" from April 2017. This focused on developing intelligent connected vehicles.
In August 2017, the MOT launched a new generation of control network and intelligent road demonstration applications. Their development involved enterprises from various industries.
By 2020, over 50% of new vehicles produced in China will have Driver Assistance (DA), Partial Automation (PA), or Conditional Automation (CA) systems, with over 10% connected to an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).
Traditional car companies, parts manufacturers, and research institutions will play a key role in the large-scale DA device production required to achieve such figures, whilst also developing and creating more advanced automatic driving technology and products. Prominent Chinese companies, such as Baidu and I-driverplus, are conducting studies of precision mapping and automatic driving technology.
With there now over 400 million users of travel-sharing service in China, Alibaba and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) have jointly launched the “Internet Vehicle” programme.
Intelligent transport will be high on the agenda during the visit of CIVITAS DESTINATIONS to China next month. Representatives from the six DESTINATIONS project cities will exchange knowledge, experience, and innovation with their Chinese counterparts on various themes.
These will include SMART urban transportation management, mobile apps and integrated mobile payment solutions, shared mobility, and the use of big data in transport. Companies and public officials from Chinese cities - including Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai - will also present their solutions.
Discover more about events taking place during the visit here and here.
For more information on CIVITAS DESTINATIONS, click here.
Author: Julia Pérez-Cerezo
