China dedicates a mountain highway to test self-driving cars

China is targeting for smart vehicles to account for half of all new cars sold at home by 2020. — SCMP

China has dedicated a mountainous stretch of highway in eastern Shandong province for testing connected, self-driving vehicles as part of the country’s efforts to challenge the US in autonomous driving technology.

The local Qilu Transportation Development Group earmarked a 26-kilometre-long (16 miles) highway for autonomous driving and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, in cooperation with partners including Chinese telecom gear provider Huawei Technologies and China Mobile, one of the country’s largest telecommunications network operators, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.