China to make car connectivity mandatory as US moves to tighten ban

China will make vehicle connectivity a mandatory part of its automotive safety framework, as Washington seeks to block Chinese cars using the technology over national security concerns.

A national standard released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on July 2 requires all new vehicles equipped with intelligent driver assistance systems to support continuous safety monitoring, data recording and remote management.

The safety standard will apply to newly approved vehicle models from January next year, as Beijing pushes ahead with more connectivity on the roads despite growing overseas restrictions.

On Wednesday, the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will vote on a bipartisan bill to strengthen a ban on Chinese carmakers entering the American market, Reuters reported on July 8.

It would shut out Chinese vehicles from the US market and also ban connected vehicle components and related technologies, with lawmakers arguing they could provide Beijing with access to sensitive infrastructure and personal data.

That comes after more than 100 bipartisan members of Congress wrote to President Donald Trump in May, raising security concerns about modern connected vehicles, saying that “every vehicle on American roads is a mobile data collection platform gathering sensitive information ranging from location data to driving behaviour”.