Chinese search giant Baidu has secured licenses to test self-driving cars carrying human passengers on designated roads in Beijing, making it one of the first companies to be able to do so in the Chinese capital, the company said Monday in a WeChat post (link in Chinese).

The issuance of the licenses comes two weeks after Beijing’s transport commission announced new regulations allowing China-registered firms to apply to test passenger transportation on designated roads. As of the end of December, Beijing has allowed 151 roads to be used for autonomous vehicle tests, totaling more than 500 kilometers in length, although roads are closed to the public during testing.

So far, robo-cars operated by Baidu have traveled more than 3 million kilometers during road tests in 23 Chinese cities, the company said in the post.

In July, Baidu was China’s first company to be granted T4 licenses to test driverless vehicles in Beijing, qualifying the Beijing-based company for testing in more complex traffic conditions.

China has designated five levels for self-driving test permits ranging from T1 to T5, which are similar to the automation levels issued by the Society of Automotive Engineers, a scientific organization dedicated to advancing mobility technology to better serve humanity. T5 refers to the SAE’s Level 5, meaning that the vehicles can run with zero human intervention.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

Related: Beijing Allows Self-Driving Cars to Carry Passengers in Road Tests