National People's Congress Representative, SAIC-GM-Wuling Party Committee Secretary and Deputy General Manager Yao Zuoping: Promote the large-scale and high-quality development of the intelligent driving industry

Report Team of the Two Sessions Liu Zhao

During the 2026 National Two Sessions,姚佐平, Party Secretary and Deputy General Manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., Ltd. (“SAIC-GM-Wuling”), focused on the development of the intelligent driving industry. He called for accelerating the large-scale, high-quality development of China’s intelligent driving industry through policy innovation, ecosystem building, technological breakthroughs, and regional collaboration.

He told Securities Daily that China’s automotive industry is currently in a critical stage of upgrading from new energy vehicles to intelligent new energy vehicles. The industry’s competitive focus is shifting from the first half of “electrification” to the second half of “electric intelligence,” driven by artificial intelligence. As an important application scenario where AI deeply integrates with the physical world, intelligent driving not only relates to the transformation and upgrading of the automotive industry but also determines whether China can seize opportunities in a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Especially with the continuous increase in assisted driving penetration, automation is becoming a key variable in shaping the industry’s future.

Based on this,姚佐平 proposed that the country should accelerate the development of a governance system for intelligent driving that suits China’s realities. He suggested advancing legislation and standard innovation around specific application scenarios to form a more Chinese-characteristic framework for intelligent driving rules. Meanwhile, pilot projects should be prioritized in scenarios where technology is mature, safety boundaries are clear, and social benefits are significant. Additionally, efforts should be made to revise and study higher-level laws to create more space for industry development.

In姚佐平’s view, for the intelligent driving industry to truly scale, technological breakthroughs are necessary, but policy support and market cultivation are equally important. He believes targeted industry incentives and promotion policies should be introduced to lower the market entry barriers for advanced technologies. By expanding application scales and accumulating richer scenario data, continuous iteration of algorithms, products, and systems can be driven, forming a virtuous cycle of “application—data—research and development.”

Beyond institutional supply and policy incentives,姚佐平 also suggested strengthening key common technology breakthroughs in national R&D plans, innovating project organization models, and supporting leading enterprises with full-stack technical capabilities that have already established market advantages to lead the formation of innovation consortia. This would promote deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application, and build a national-level industrial ecosystem platform. The core goal is to achieve more efficient resource integration, reduce redundant construction, improve collaborative innovation efficiency, and cultivate a globally competitive intelligent driving industry cluster.