Fearing a head-on confrontation, the United States wants to completely ban my country's autonomous driving and networking technologies

The United States is planning a blanket ban on the use of Chinese-made software in self-driving and connected cars in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.

The Biden administration will propose a ban in the coming weeks that would apply to all vehicles with L3 automation levels and above.

Level 3, also known as conditional driving automation, allows drivers to engage in activities such as watching a movie or using a smartphone while driving, but only under limited conditions.

Under the proposal, automakers and suppliers would need to verify that none of their connected car or advanced self-driving car software was developed by a "foreign entity of concern," such as China, the sources said.

U.S. officials will also propose banning vehicles using advanced wireless communication capability modules developed by China from driving on U.S. roads, they added.

The plan to ban Chinese technology is not surprising, given that U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Raimondo, have said it poses a national security risk because of the data collected by self-driving cars.

At an event in January, Raimondo said self-driving electric vehicles collect "a lot of information about the driver, the location of the vehicle, the environment around the vehicle." The Commerce Department reiterated those concerns on Sunday when asked by Reuters about the planned ban.

A spokesman said the department's Bureau of Industry and Security will issue a proposed rule that "will focus on specific systems within vehicles. Industry will also have an opportunity to review the proposed rule and submit comments."

Last week, the White House and State Department held a meeting with allies and industry leaders to "jointly address national security risks associated with connected cars," the department said.

Officials disclosed details of the government's planned rules at that meeting, the sources said.

The meeting included officials from the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom, who "exchanged views on data and cybersecurity risks associated with connected cars and certain components."

Testing banned on U.S. roads

If they go into effect, the proposed U.S. rules would also effectively ban the testing of Chinese-made self-driving cars on U.S. roads.

Last month, Fortune magazine reported that self-driving cars made by Chinese automakers have driven nearly 3 million kilometers on U.S. roads since 2017.

The report noted that the vehicles have been using cameras and lasers to collect detailed data about American roads — some even storing the data in China.

Meanwhile, last year, a group of US lawmakers also said that Chinese autonomous vehicle (AV) companies drove more than 724,205 kilometers in test drives in California in the 12 months ending November 2022.

They also questioned the data handling of 10 companies, including Baidu, NIO, WeRide, Didi, Xpeng, Inceptio, Pony.ai, AutoX, Deeproute.ai and Qcraft.

In response to the US plan to ban the use of Chinese-made technology, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said electric vehicles are a global industry.

"Only division of labor and cooperation can bring mutual benefit, and only fair competition can bring about technological progress," the spokesperson said. "China urges the United States to earnestly abide by market principles and international trade rules and create a fair competition environment for companies from all countries. China will firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests."

Inventory of well-known domestic autonomous driving software suppliers

Baidu

The core of Baidu's driverless technology is Apollo. The Apollo platform is Baidu's open autonomous driving software platform, which covers the core technical modules such as perception, decision-making, planning and control required for autonomous driving. The Apollo platform supports autonomous driving solutions from L1 to L4 levels and provides a wealth of development tools and simulation environments.

Baidu provides high-precision map services with centimeter-level accuracy, which are the basis for autonomous vehicles to plan paths and perceive the environment. Baidu's perception system uses multi-sensor fusion technology, including lidar, cameras, millimeter-wave radar and ultrasonic sensors, to achieve comprehensive perception of the surrounding environment. The system can identify vehicles, pedestrians, traffic signs and obstacles, etc., to ensure the safe driving of autonomous vehicles in complex road environments.

Apollo Lite is a lightweight autonomous driving solution launched by Baidu, which aims to reduce hardware costs and improve the ease of use and reliability of the system. Apollo Lite uses a high-performance computing platform and optimized algorithms to reduce the number of sensors while still providing reliable autonomous driving functions.

Baidu is also committed to the research and development of intelligent transportation systems, using vehicle-to-infrastructure collaboration (V2X) technology to achieve information exchange between vehicles and infrastructure and improve traffic efficiency and safety. For example, Baidu has launched intelligent transportation pilot projects in multiple cities to explore the deep integration of autonomous driving and intelligent transportation systems.

Baidu is actively promoting the commercial application of autonomous driving technology and has launched autonomous taxi (Robotaxi) service pilots in multiple cities. Baidu's Robotaxi project is being tested in Changsha, Beijing, Guangzhou and other cities. Passengers can book autonomous taxis through mobile applications and experience the convenience brought by autonomous driving technology.

NIO

As an electric car manufacturer, NIO's autonomous driving technology is an important part of its intelligent driving system. NIO's autonomous driving technology is mainly concentrated on its systems called NIO Pilot and NOP (Navigate on Pilot).

NIO Pilot is Weilai’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which uses a variety of sensor technologies and advanced algorithms to provide a range of semi-autonomous driving functions. The main functions of NIO Pilot include:

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB): Uses the forward-facing camera and radar to detect obstacles ahead and automatically applies emergency braking to avoid a collision.

Lane Keeping Assist (LKA): Uses a camera to detect lane markings and automatically adjusts the steering wheel to keep the vehicle in the center of the lane.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC): Automatically adjusts vehicle speed based on the speed of the vehicle ahead to maintain a safe distance.

Automatic Parking (APA): Automatically searches for parking spaces and completes parallel or perpendicular parking maneuvers.

NOP（Navigate on Pilot）

NOP is a more advanced autonomous driving function launched by NIO, mainly used on highways and urban expressways. NOP combines high-precision maps and real-time sensor data to provide a smarter driving experience. Its functions include:

Automatic lane change: On highways, lane changes are automatically completed based on the navigation route and traffic conditions.

Automatic entry and exit of highways: Automatically enter and exit highways based on the navigation route.

Intelligent Speed ​​Limit: Automatically adjusts vehicle speed to meet road speed limit requirements based on high-precision map data and road signs.

NIO has multiple R&D centers around the world, focusing on the research and development of intelligent driving technology. At the same time, NIO cooperates with many well-known technology companies and research institutions to promote the innovation and advancement of autonomous driving technology.

WeRide

WeRide is a leading Chinese driverless technology company focused on developing autonomous driving solutions. Founded in 2017, WeRide's technology covers the core modules required for autonomous driving, including perception, decision-making, planning and control.

WeRide's driverless technology mainly includes the following core parts:

Perception system: WeRide uses multi-sensor fusion technology, including lidar, cameras, millimeter-wave radar and ultrasonic sensors, to provide 360-degree environmental perception capabilities. Its perception system can detect and identify vehicles, pedestrians, traffic signs and obstacles in real time.

Decision-making and planning: WeRide has developed advanced decision-making and planning algorithms that can generate safe and reasonable driving paths and strategies based on real-time perception data and high-precision map information.

Control system: WeRide’s control system can accurately execute decision-making and planning results, ensuring the vehicle’s stable and safe driving under various complex road conditions.

Didi

DiDi Chuxing is China's leading mobile travel platform, and its driverless technology research and development is an important part of its smart transportation strategy. DiDi's driverless department was established in 2016 and is committed to developing a full-stack autonomous driving solution covering core technology modules such as perception, decision-making, planning and control.

Xpeng Motors

Xpeng Motors is a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle manufacturer, with driverless technology as one of its core competencies. Xpeng is committed to providing advanced autonomous driving solutions through independent research and development and technological innovation.

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