Shanghai has been welcoming a rapid expansion of self-driving taxis, bringing the service to busy areas of the metropolis as part of continued efforts to promote the pioneering technology.
The city recently held the just-concluded 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC), where it granted eight permits for companies to expand their autonomous driving services.
The companies are eager to prove that autopilot services can become widely-used services. According to Anthony Huang, vice president of Pony.ai, many daily commuters have already accepted the concept.
"Right now, the busiest times are rush hours and meal times. We’ll be expanding to places like Pudong International Airport, Zhangjiang, and Disneyland, and running for longer hours too," he said.
Up to now, ensuring safety has been the primary barrier to putting self-driving cars on the road. Now that the technology has become a reality, companies are also focusing on comfort and convenience, equipping amenities like passenger-controlled air conditioning, phone chargers, and music players.
A report by Goldman Sachs indicates that the Chinese robotaxi market is expected to grow rapidly from about 12 billion U.S. dollars by 2030, and 47 billion U.S. dollars by 2035, with the total fleet size expected to grow from 41,000 by this year to 1.9 million by 2035.
Huang credits this rapid advancement to firm support from the Chinese government.
"China and the U.S. lead in autonomous mobility, but China has an edge with rapid AI growth and strong national policy support," he said.
Shanghai to expand operation of autonomous taxis
Shanghai to expand operation of autonomous taxis
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.
"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.
Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."
Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.
Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.
German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.
According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.
"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.
He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.
Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees
