The Licensing Award Ceremony for Intelligent Connected Vehicle Road Test is held at the 2018 Computing Conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sept 20. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group was issued a permit to test self-driving cars on the roads in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sept 20.

The testing permit, issued by the Hangzhou government at an artificial intelligence summit of the 2018 Computing Conference, wil allow Alibaba to test its autonomous driving technologies in the Artificial Intelligence Town in Yuhang district of the city, where the company has its headquarters.

"It marks a new step in the development of Hangzhou's intelligent network vehicle technology", said Zheng Jianguo, deputy director of local traffic police bureau. 

Wang Gang, chief scientist of the Alibaba's AI Labs, revealed that the company's latest self-driving technology can effectively handle complex traffic conditions and is undergoing tests on public roads.

In recent years, the information economy of Hangzhou has flourished, while intelligent network vehicles and new energy vehicles are among the key focuses of the emerging industries, according to a local official.

An artificial intelligence summit is held at the 2018 Computing Conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sept 20. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Wang Gang, chief scientist of the Alibaba's AI Labs, makes a keynote speech at an artificial intelligence summit of 2018 Computing Conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sept 20. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]