Lei Jun Urges at Two Sessions: No Matter How Fast Smart Driving Advances, Safety Must Stay in Control

During the 2026 National Two Sessions, intelligent driving emerged as a hot topic of discussion, though the discourse has become more rational. Lei Jun, a national deputy to the National People's Congress and founder of Xiaomi Group, issued a special reminder: the vast majority of "intelligent driving" features currently available on the market are only Level 2 (L2) driver assistance systems. These systems can merely assist with steering, acceleration, and deceleration, requiring drivers to remain fully attentive, monitor the system at all times, and be ready to take over immediately—making them still the primary party responsible for safety. Lei pointed out that some automakers use ambiguous marketing terms such as "autonomous driving" or "hands-free driving," which can easily mislead the public about the actual capabilities of the technology. Although Level 3 (L3) autonomous driving was approved for pilot deployment by the end of 2025, it has not yet been widely commercialized, and challenges remain in clearly defining liability. Lei Jun proposed accelerating the development of technical standards for intelligent driving, classifying "hands-off and eyes-off" operation of L2 systems as a traffic violation subject to penalties, strengthening automakers' responsibilities in advertising claims, and updating driver licensing and training systems to align with the advancement of vehicle intelligence—all aimed at comprehensively enhancing awareness of human-machine collaborative safety.