The Chinese internet giant Baidu has signed two contracts in Germany aimed at developing autonomous driving options.
"AI (artificial intelligence) technology has huge potential to promote social development, and one of AI's biggest opportunities lies in intelligent vehicles," said Qi Lu, chief operating officer of Baidu said in a statement on Thursday.
The company has announced collaborations with Continental and Bosh, but has not disclosed any amounts involved.
"Through this agreement with Continental, we expect to upgrade the intelligent systems of the automobile industry and energize many existing and emerging industries," Qi Lu said.
The collaboration with Bosh specifically will firstly involve an in-depth technical cooperation and in the future, Bosh will be able to work in Baidu's Apollo Project, an open platform for automated driving.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended the signing ceremony with Bosh. The leader is in Europe for a summit with the European Union, where he aims to boost business between Chinese and European firms. He is also set to support a common response to climate change marking a different position from U.S. President Donald Trump who is reportedly expected to pull the country out of the historic Paris agreement.
