Chinese equipment maker Huawei Technologies is designing new communications architecture for self-driving vehicles that will be connected to the internet.

The announcement is part of Huawei's attempt to introduce new technologies based on 5G mobile networks, which the company wants to have commercially viable no later than 2020, said Eric Xu, the company's chief executive, according to

Huawei, which has become one of the top competitors for western telecoms equipment manufacturers led by Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, is setting aside $600 million in research and development spending for 5G networks, according to ChinaTopix.com.

"We are in close partnerships with car manufacturers to find their requirements for 5G," said Mr Xu, according to ChinaTopix.com.

He added that the company has no plans to make cars, but Huawei will design communications modules that will allow cars to connect to networks and, eventually, allow vehicles to be driven by remote control.

The Chinese giant has been devoting a lot of time and effort on research and development for 5G networks lately. A few weeks ago, the company announce that it would invest $8 million in the University of Surrey in the U.K. to expand research in 5G technology.

Huawei's announcement is noteworthy since the company is already by some measures the world's top manufacturer of the digital world's architecture, mobile and fixed-line networks.

The company won 38 percent of all contracts based on a 4G mobile technology so far known as Long Term Evolution, as part of the end of June 30, according to Ovum, the research firm.

Huawei also recently partnered with Singaporean telecom company SingTel Ltd. to launch a 5G Joint Innovation Program. This partnership was formed to test 5G networks that will provide near-zero-delay and near-zero-distance experience to SingTel customers, according to ChinaTopix.com.

Last week, Huawei also announced plans to partner up with Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon to create 5G networks in time for the 2018 World Cup.