China officially released the first international standard for scenario-based testing of autonomous vehicles on Thursday.

The new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard was titled "2022 Road vehicles – Test scenarios for automated driving systems – Vocabulary."

The standard clarifies basic terms and elements of automated driving test scenarios, laying the foundation for subsequent scenario-based test settings, said Wang Zhao, director of the Standardization Institute of China Automotive Technology & Research Center in an interview with CCTV.

With the popularization of autonomous driving, traditional vehicle testing and evaluation methods can no longer catch up, so a new testing and evaluation system based on complex test scenarios should be set up, Wang added.

Meanwhile, Chinese experts have launched a series of international standard projects with peers from 20 countries in this field, including scenario vocabulary, safety assessment framework and the scope for design and operation, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

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The ministry said it will work together with relevant local entities to fully utilize the country's rich experiences and dynamic innovation in the automobile industry to accelerate the research and development of this advanced technology, MIIT said in a statement.

It also pledged to continue contributing to international standards-setting and the development of regulations.

China has implemented favorable policies over the past two years to spur the commercialization of driverless vehicles.

In November 2021, Beijing made its Yizhuang District a pilot zone for autonomous driving, allowing companies such as Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc. and self-driving start-up Pony.ai to operate a commercial robotaxi business.

Shanghai has set the goal to have Level 3 autonomous driving cars account for more than 70 percent of new car production in the city by 2025. "Level 3" refers to conditional automated driving, where the vehicle can perform most tasks but human drivers are expected to resume control in emergency situations.

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