The Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, along with the Public Security Bureau and the Transportation Bureau, have jointly issued the "Implementation Rules for Road Testing and Demonstration Application of Intelligent Connected Vehicles in Jiangmen City". This document establishes systematic guidelines for road testing, demonstration applications, remote driving, and automated driving pilot programs throughout the city.
The new rules will take effect on September 25, 2026, and remain valid until December 31, 2028, at which point the previous trial version will be officially repealed. Framed around the principles of encouraging innovation, maintaining openness and inclusiveness, and ensuring safety and controllability, the regulations apply to all intelligent connected vehicle road testing and demonstration activities conducted within Jiangmen's administrative boundaries. They explicitly extend oversight to remote driving tests, remote driving demonstrations, and automated driving pilots, while detailing requirements for the entities involved, vehicles, drivers, and safety officers.
Under the management framework, governments at the county level are responsible for designating open areas within their jurisdictions and publishing this information publicly. They will also review applications for local testing and demonstration activities and oversee day-to-day operations. The rules establish a mutual recognition mechanism, meaning entities that have already obtained relevant qualifications in Jiangmen or its subordinate counties can carry out similar activities across all open areas in the city without needing to reapply.
Qualification requirements follow a tiered structure. Vehicles applying for initial demonstration use must complete no less than 240 hours or 1,000 kilometers of road testing in autonomous driving mode on the proposed demonstration routes, without any traffic violations or accidents where the vehicle party bears responsibility during that period. For remote driving road testing applications, vehicles of the same model must have completed a cumulative total of no less than 30,000 kilometers of remote driving tests domestically, or no less than 240 hours or 1,000 kilometers of road testing on the proposed routes within the city.
Notably, the regulations permit qualified automated driving pilot entities to charge service fees to recipients, provided such charges comply with national, provincial, and municipal policy requirements. Fee standards and pricing methods must be specified in application materials. When charging unspecified members of the public, entities must publicly disclose their pricing structure and are prohibited from engaging in low-price practices that disrupt market order in the transportation sector.
Safety provisions are woven throughout the regulations. Each vehicle involved in road testing or demonstration applications must carry commercial accident liability insurance of no less than 5 million yuan, or provide a guarantee letter of equivalent compensation. Automated driving pilot vehicles must additionally secure seat insurance, personal accident insurance, and carrier liability insurance of no less than 2 million yuan per seat or per person. For remote driving vehicles, the personnel-to-vehicle ratio must not be lower than 1:3, and remote safety officers must complete at least 40 hours of professional skills training and 50 hours of remote control operation practice.
Looking ahead to local weather, forecasts indicate that under the influence of a new cold front, conditions from the 9th to the 12th will see partly cloudy skies with scattered showers or thunderstorms, accompanied by stronger northerly winds and a slight drop in temperatures. From the 13th onward, the periphery of a tropical cyclone in the South China Sea is expected to bring increased thunderstorm activity.
In related local news, Jiangmen is advancing early deployment of energy, municipal, and living facilities to shift from a model where enterprises wait for supporting infrastructure to one where infrastructure is ready before enterprises arrive. This proactive approach aims to strengthen the city's industrial development foundation. With 2026 marking the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the city is targeting the goal of building a trillion-yuan industrial powerhouse, deepening the manufacturing-led strategy, and integrating hardware facilities in industrial parks as a key driver for investment attraction.
Customs data shows that in the first eight months of this year, Jiangmen Customs supervised imported and exported mooncakes through bonded warehouses with a total value exceeding 53 million yuan. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, batches of Hong Kong-made Maxim's mooncakes have entered the Pengjiang District food public bonded warehouse under customs supervision. After simple processing such as repackaging, labeling, and wrapping, these products will reach consumers through major supermarkets, offering more choices to mainland shoppers.
A unique nighttime job fair was held on the evening of September 4th at Lihe Plaza, organized by the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security with support from municipal and district-level employment services. The event, part of the 2026 "Building Dreams for Youth, Employment Sets Sail" campaign for college graduates, featured direct hiring by company executives, AI-powered recruitment tools, and live band performances, creating a new evening job-seeking experience in a commercial district that avoids the heat of daytime and scheduling conflicts.
On the national and international front, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Information and Communications Industry on September 7. The plan sets a target of fully building a new generation communication network with comprehensive coverage and leading performance by 2030, while accelerating the formation of a technologically advanced and secure information and communications industry system.
At a press conference held on September 7, Hu Qiangqiang, spokesperson for the National Health Commission, cautioned that treatments such as plasma exchange and ozone therapy are not preventive health procedures for healthy individuals. Using these techniques on healthy people for purposes like anti-aging or sub-health conditioning constitutes off-label use of medical devices and technologies and is considered illegal and non-compliant.
In international affairs, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated on September 7 that Russia does not rule out resuming trilateral talks on Ukraine involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine, though it is premature to discuss specific timing and venues. Peskov described a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner as "a small step toward peace."
Meanwhile, President Trump threatened on social media on September 7 to ban Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier from selling products in the United States unless the company begins manufacturing there. Trump claimed Bombardier's products are "not good enough" and noted that over 50% of the company's revenue comes from the US, relying on American buyers, businesses, airports, and services, while Canada blocks US banks and companies and hinders Gulfstream Aerospace's operations in the country.
Looking back at party history, from September 8-13, 1948, the Central Political Bureau enlarged meeting was held in Xibaipo. The meeting set forth the strategic task of building a 5 million strong People's Liberation Army and fundamentally overthrowing the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang within roughly five years, counting from July 1946.
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