It is expected to be years before cars that operate completely without humans are unleashed owing to lingering technological, regulatory, and safety hurdles.
Chinese companies such as Baidu, Alibaba-backed AutoX and ride-sharing king DiDi Chuxing are launching projects.
Similar efforts are underway in the US, and AutoX's chief executive Xiao Jianxiong told AFP the first fully-autonomous vehicles could be on the roads by the end of the year.
Chinese consumers were lining up for a spin in DiDi Chuxing's self-driving taxis at a Shanghai pilot project launched in June.
More about: #China
