A new test centre dedicated to autonomous and connected vehicles was opened this week in Xiangyang in China's Hubei province.

The CNY1.6bn (US$228m) centre covers an area of 73 hectares and is understood to be the first of its kind in the country. The dedicated facility allows automakers to test leading connected and autonomous driving technologies in a broad range of scenarios, using 5G systems, precise positioning and real-time sensing.

In a separate report, a fleet of 30 vehicles equipped with Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving technology last month began trials in the city of Cangzhou in China's North China's Hebei province.

The vehicles have been tested on 114 km of designated roads in the Cangzhou Economic and Development Zone, as part of the region's efforts to speed up development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and intelligent vehicles and transportation systems.

China is looking to become a global leader in autonomous and connected car technology and trials are being stepped up on dedicated roads and test centres across the country.

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