Driverless delivery vehicles during a road test at Neolix Technologies Co., Ltd in Beijing, capital of China.

Van without a manPhotograph: Xinhua News Agency/eyevine

May 11th 2026|Qingdao and Shanghai|4 min read

A year ago the city of Qingdao had just a handful of autonomous vehicles. Now it has more than almost anywhere else on Earth. One firm, Neolix, has put around 1,200 unmanned delivery vans on local roads; it hopes to have 4,000 by the end of the year. With several other autonomous taxi and food-delivery projects under way, Qingdao exemplifies how rapidly artificial intelligence is transforming China. It is also the front line of the clash between unmanned vehicles and drivers.

Signage for Mizuho Bank Ltd., a unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MHFG), at one of the bank's branches in Tokyo, Japan.

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