WUHAN, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Liu Yi is among China's 7

million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-old Wuhan resident, he

started driving part-time this year when construction work

slowed in the face of a nationwide glut of unsold apartments.

Now he predicts another crisis as he stands next to his car

watching neighbours order driverless taxis.

"Everyone will go hungry," he said of Wuhan drivers

competing against robotaxis from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of

technology giant Baidu ( BIDU ).

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

declined comment.

Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers

globally to face the threat of job loss from artificial

intelligence as thousands of robotaxis hit Chinese streets,

economists and industry experts said.

Self-driving technology remains experimental but China has

moved aggressively to green-light trials compared with the U.S

which is quick to launch investigations and suspend approvals

after accidents.

At least 19 Chinese cities are running robotaxi and robobus

tests, disclosures showed. Seven have approved tests without

human-driver monitors by at least five industry leaders: Apollo

Go, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX and SAIC Motor.

Apollo Go said in May it planned to deploy 1,000 robotaxis

in Wuhan by year-end. In 2022, it had forecast it would be

operating in 100 cities by 2030.

In a statement issued on Aug. 12, Apollo Go said it expected

the transition to autonomous transport in China to be "gradual

and well-regulated."

"Our robotaxi fleet currently complements, rather than

replaces, existing transport options," the company said.

It added that the rollout of autonomous taxis would also

create jobs at Apollo Go in monitoring and testing and in

analysing the data gleaned from the ongoing trials.

Pony.ai, backed by Japan's Toyota Motor ( TM ), operates

300 robotaxis and plans 1,000 more by 2026. Its vice president

has said robotaxis could take five years to become sustainably

profitable, at which point they will expand "exponentially".

WeRide is known for autonomous taxis, vans, buses and street

sweepers. AutoX, backed by e-commerce leader Alibaba Group ( BABA )

, operates in cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

SAIC has been operating robotaxis since the end of 2021.

"We've seen an acceleration in China. There's certainly now

a rapid pace of permits being issued," said Boston Consulting

Group managing director Augustin Wegscheider. "The U.S. has been

a lot more gradual."

Alphabet's Waymo is the only U.S. firm operating

uncrewed robotaxis that collect fares. The company has a total

of about 700 cars operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles,

Phoenix and Austin, Texas, but not all of them are in service at

all times, a company spokesperson said.

Cruise, backed by General Motors ( GM ), restarted testing

in April after one of its vehicles hit a pedestrian last year.

Cruise said it operates in three cities with safety its core

mission.

"There's a clear contrast between U.S. and China" with

robotaxi developers facing far more scrutiny and higher hurdles

in the U.S., said former Waymo CEO John Krafcik.

Robotaxis spark safety concerns in China, too, but fleets

proliferate as authorities approve testing to support economic

goals. Last year, President Xi Jinping called for "new

productive forces", setting off regional competition.

Beijing announced testing in limited areas in June and

Guangzhou said this month it would open roads citywide to

self-driving trials.

Some Chinese firms have sought to test autonomous cars in

the U.S. but the White House is set to ban vehicles with

China-developed systems, said people briefed on the matter.

Boston Consulting's Wegscheider compared China's push to

develop autonomous vehicles to its support of electric vehicles.

"Once they commit," he said, "they move pretty fast".

'STUPID RADISHES'

China has 7 million registered ride-hailing drivers versus

4.4 million two years ago, official data showed. With

ride-hailing providing last-resort jobs during an economic

slowdown, the side effects of robotaxis could prompt the

government to tap the brakes, economists said.

In July, discussion of job losses from robotaxis soared to

the top of social media searches with hashtags including, "Are

driverless cars stealing taxi drivers' livelihoods?"

In Wuhan, Liu and other ride-hailing drivers call Apollo Go

vehicles "stupid radishes" - a pun on the brand's name in local

dialect - saying they cause traffic jams.

Liu worries, too, about the impending introduction of

Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" system - which still

requires human drivers - and the automaker's robotaxi ambitions.

"I'm afraid that after the radishes come," he said, "Tesla

will come."

Wuhan driver Wang Guoqiang, 63, sees a threat to workers who

can least afford disruption.

"Ride-hailing is work for the lowest class," he said, as he

watched an Apollo Go vehicle park in front of his taxi. "If you

kill off this industry, what is left for them to do?"

Baidu ( BIDU ) declined to comment on the drivers' concerns. In

response to a question about the profitability of the service,

Baidu ( BIDU ) referred Reuters to comments in May by Chen Zhuo, Apollo

Go's general manager. Chen said the firm would become "the

world's first commercially profitable" autonomous-driving

platform.

Apollo Go loses almost $11,000 a car annually in Wuhan,

Haitong International Securities estimated. A lower-cost model

could enable per-vehicle annual profit of nearly $16,000, the

securities firm said. By contrast, a ride-hailing car earns

about $15,000 total for the driver and platform.

'ALREADY AT THE FOREFRONT'

Automating jobs could benefit China in the long run given a

shrinking population, economists said.

"In the short run, there must be a balance in speed between

the creation of new jobs and the destruction of old jobs," said

Tang Yao, associate professor of applied economics at Peking

University. "We do not necessarily need to push at the fastest

speed, as we are already at the forefront."

Eastern Pioneer Driving School has more than

halved its instructor number since 2019 to about 900. Instead,

it has teachers at a Beijing control centre remotely monitoring

students in 610 cars equipped with computer instruction tools.

Computers score students on every wheel turn and brake tap,

and virtual reality simulators coach them on navigating winding

roads. Massive screens provide real-time analysis of driver

tasks, such as one student's 82% parallel-parking pass rate.

Zhang Yang, the school's intelligent-training director, said

the machines have done well.

"The efficiency, pass rate and safety awareness have greatly

improved."