China - Dateline : Recent

Storyline:
Autonomous freight transport piloted in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

[Voice_over]

China has been piloting driverless freight transport on the expressway linking Beijing and the northern city of Tianjin.

In a recent test, a hydrogen-powered truck smoothly navigated the cross-provincial highway, and safely managed complex traffic scenarios without any human intervention.

Experts say unified standards and consistent policies can pave the way for wider applications of unmanned logistics in the country.

[Sound_bite]

Hou Ying, director, automobile and transportation industry division, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology:

"The three places have devised policies and implemented strategies for intelligent connected new energy vehicles, with unified standards, mutual recognition of results, and cross-domain connectivity. In the future, the demonstration scenario of Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu expressway will be taken as a starting point for the gradual promotion of the initiative across the entire nation."

[Voice_over]

China's logistics sector has been undergoing a digital overhaul lately by incorporating new technologies like big data and the Internet of Things.

Data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing shows there more than 5,900 digital logistics companies were set up last year, an increase of nearly 12 percent from the year prior.

[Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland]