Residents in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province can take self-driving cars from June 23. The service was jointly launched by AutoNavi and self-driving ride company WeRide. Photo: WeRide

Chinese autonomous driving startup WeRide obtained a license on Sunday to test its self-driving car in a designated area of South China's Guangzhou province without a safety officer, the first to do so in China. 

This is the second no-safety officer unmanned vehicle road test in the world after the US and the first to take place in China - meaning that driverless cars, which are truly unmanned, will take to the streets of Guangzhou.

Remote monitoring and control are still necessary, with no passengers allowed during testing.

WeRide's new goal is to run driverless cars with passengers and without security officers by around 2022 to 2023, media reported on Sunday citing Zhang Li, COO of WeRide,

WeRide, a leading L4 autonomous driving company in China, launched its unmanned ride-hailing service to residents in Guangzhou for one month free of charge on June 23, the company announced on its website. The company is cooperating with Alibaba's Amap, known as AutoNavi.

The Robotaxi service covers an operational area of 144 square kilometers across the Huangpu and Guangzhou Development Districts in Guangzhou. Currently there are over 200 pick-up and drop-off spots.

Zhang said that there are strict requirements for applying for the license to test self-driving vehicles without safety officers.

The applicant company must first conduct actual road tests of more than 30,000 kilometers without accidents. They can then obtain a license after a month-long detailed assessment by a panel of experts. Each company can apply for up to five vehicles, Zhang explained.

"Having the courage to remove the safety officer from the vehicle shows that we have reached a certain level of autonomous driving technology," said Zhang.

WeRide is one of the autonomous driving companies in China that has started trial driving on the roads.

Didi Chuxing, another Chinese ride-hailing giant, launched an autonomous vehicle project for passengers in Shanghai on June 27, allowing users to call self-driving cars for rides within limited test areas for free in Shanghai's Jiading district.