With the Beijing Motor Show underway, the days when the country’s domestic car firms was brushed off as mere copycats are well and truly over.
And a lot of this year’s buzz is around driverless cars in particular.
In past years, innovation might have come from Silicon valley, but Chinese companies are pushing ahead.
"There is a lot more going on in China than many in the West have realized," car expert Prof David Bailey of the Aston Business School tells the BBC.
Who are the big players?
Changan: Two driverless cars drove more than 2,000km (1,240 miles) from its headquarters to Beijing using cameras and radar to complete the trip in six days - the car firm says it was able to do research on lane-keeping and changing, traffic sign recognition, automatic cruising and voice control.
Baidu and BMW: A cooperation between Chinese tech giant Baidu and German car maker BMW saw a driverless car drive 30km through Beijing traffic, managing a range of manoeuvres, including U-turns, lane changes and merging into traffic from ramps.
Geely and Volvo: Chinese owned Swedish car maker Volvo says it plans to test 100 driverless cars on public roads in "everyday conditions". It is thought to be a significant move to establish the Sino-Swedish team at the forefront of development. Volvo is also testing driverless cars in Sweden and the UK.
In addition to these main players there are many others vying for attention. Research in China takes place in car companies, tech firms and at universities.
Last week, entertainment company LeEco made a big splash presenting its concept car LeSee, which at least in the presentation impressed with wide-ranging capabilities.
The company is also investing in the US electric car start-up, Faraday Future, and and is cooperating with legendary British Aston Martin on an electric car project.
How soon is now?
So when will it be normal to have a driverless car pull up next to you at the traffic light? "We are probably still one decade away from that," says Prof Bailey.
Yet Changan, Baidu and Geely are right in the midst of research and development, eager to get there ahead of Silicon Valley.
"Both in China as well as in the West this will be a technology that will creep up on us," he adds.
Just think of the many driver assistance technologies that we already have. Cars help you stay in lane, park themselves or detect when they should brake.
"Over time, we’ll see a lot more of these features in cars and eventually that will lead to a driverless car," he says.