The move is being seen as a counter to US sanctions, effectively forcing Huawei to be an even greater danger to American tech companies by developing their own.

"Our team's goal is to reach true driverless passenger cars in 2025", Wang Jun, senior executive at Huawei's smart vehicle unit, told an industry conference.

Dozens of startups, automakers and large technology firms such as internet search leader Baidu are accelerating work on self-driving vehicle systems which are expected to bring a sea change to the transportation industry.

Huawei has pivoted to smart electric vehicles after its global smartphone business was hammered by US sanctions.