China autonomous vehicle rules require safety override

China has drawn up safety rules for autonomous vehicles that will require safe activation and deactivation procedures, including a mandatory override, the government said on August 4.

The standards are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2027. They will cover autonomous vehicles that need a human back-up driver and independently operating vehicles, including robotaxis.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said manufacturers will have to ensure autonomous systems can match the safety of human drivers. Buyers will also have to be informed of any limitations in the systems.

For cars with a human back-up driver, the autonomous system must monitor the driver's readiness to take control, the ministry said.

The rules follow tighter attention to safety after Beijing warned leading automakers that regulations would be more strictly enforced following a fatal 2025 crash involving a Xiaomi car in assisted driving mode. They also follow the adoption in June of the first global regulations for fully autonomous vehicles by a UN agency, which China backed.