As it did with electric cars, Tesla could prove a fierce competitor in China's autonomous-vehicle segment, industry analysts and executives say, citing its early lead in developing driver-assistance systems with some autonomous features.

If Tesla succeeds in bringing its "Full Self-Driving" system to China, the world's largest car market, the U.S. electric-car pioneer will be shifting into the fast lane of the global race toward autonomous vehicles.

On a whirlwind trip to Beijing starting Sunday, Musk came to discuss the potential rollout of its FSD driver-assistance system and the possibility of securing government approvals for overseas transfers of data from Tesla (TSLA.O),  vehicles in China, according to a source with knowledge of the trip.

Such data, used to train self-driving systems, would boost Tesla's long-term efforts to produce fully autonomous vehicles.

As it did with electric cars, Tesla could prove a fierce competitor in China's autonomous-vehicle segment, industry analysts and executives say, citing its early lead in developing driver-assistance systems with some autonomous features.

But Tesla faces potent rivals including BYD (002594.SZ),  China's largest EV maker, and Huawei (HWT.UL), a smartphone maker emerging as a national tech champion, that have rolled out systems designed to navigate China's densely packed urban landscapes.

Those two giants are among at least 10 automakers and suppliers that have unveiled driver-assistance systems over the past two years that can navigate city streets and make turns at intersections. Others include EV makers Xpeng (9868.HK),  and Li Auto (2015.HK), and Xiaomi (1810.HK), , the smartphone maker that recently introduced its first car, an instant hit.

Any new model priced at more than $30,000 in China now needs advanced driver-assistance features to compete, said Maxwell Zhou, co-founder of DeepRoute.ai, a China-based startup selling software for advanced driver-assistance systems.

Driver-assistance features now offered in China are "level two" systems, meaning they require a driver ready to take over. Tesla's FSD and its less-advanced options of Autopilot, are also level-two systems requiring attentive drivers.