China's Growing 'Robotaxi' Fleet Sparks National Security Concerns

Driverless taxis are gradually making their way throughout Chinese cities, drawing attention as they zoom past shopping centers and office buildings. This is causing both curiosity and worry.

In an attempt to overtake US industry leaders in the field of self-driving technology, Chinese automakers and tech companies have invested billions of dollars in this technology in recent years. These days, Wuhan, in the center of the country, is home to one of the biggest fleets of self-driving cars in the world, with over 500 vehicles that can be booked through an app just like regular taxis.

However, not everyone perceives this situation as magical, as in a sci-fi film.
A debate over safety erupted in April after a Huawei-backed Aito car was involved in a fatal accident, with the company claiming the automatic braking system failed. A minor collision between a jaywalker and a Wuhan robotaxi last month sparked new concerns.

Taxi drivers and traditional ride-hailing company employees have expressed concern about being replaced by artificial intelligence, despite the fact that the technology is still in its early stages. Wuhan's driverless cabs are part of Baidu's Apollo Go project, which was granted licenses to operate in the city in 2022. Initially, only five robocars transported passengers across 13 square kilometers (five square miles) of the city of approximately 14 million people.

According to Baidu, taxis now operate in a 3,000 square kilometer area—more than one-third of Wuhan's total land area, including a small portion of the city center. In comparison, US leader Waymo claims that the largest area it covers is 816 square kilometers in Arizona. The robotaxi fleet represents a small fraction of Wuhan's tens of thousands of taxis and ride-hailing vehicles. However, as part of a national push for technological supremacy, an increasing number of Chinese cities are implementing policies to encourage self-driving services. For many years, models with different degrees of autonomy have been tested in industrial parks across the nation by Baidu and its domestic competitor Pony.ai

Last month, Shanghai granted its first set of temporary licenses for fully autonomous vehicles, and Beijing, the nation's capital, authorized fully autonomous robot taxis for use in suburbs. Pilot projects are also in progress in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen and the southwest city of Chongqing. But before self-driving taxis become commonplace, there's still a long way to go in terms of technology, according to Tom Nunlist, a tech policy analyst at Trivium China.