The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing municipal government and Hebei provincial government will build a demonstration zone for smart cars and intelligent transportation in Beijing Economic-Technological Development Zone, or E-town, from 2016 to 2020.

Huai Jinpeng, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; Sui Zhenjiang, vice mayor of Beijing and Zhang Jiehui, vice governor of Hebei province were present for the agreement’s signing ceremony in E-town on Jan 18.

According to the plan, the smart cars and intelligent transportation will develop synchronously, which is a highlight in the demonstration zone’s construction. The government, automobile companies, Internet companies, universities and research institutes will work together to develop smart cars and supporting facilities, based on the big data and cloud computing.

Beijing’s municipal commission of economy and information technology jointly released the pilot application plan with E-town’s administrative committee. The five-year action plan covers six aspects, from road networks to intelligent management.

Fifteen enterprises and public institutions proposed a collaborative innovation center at the signing ceremony. Four companies established a supportive fund.

Through the pilot application in E-town, the center is expected to develop core technologies for intelligent transportation and promote technological and commercial innovation models in the industries of cars manufacturing, mobile telecommunication and Internet.