China wants a say before its biggest AI models leave the country
Beijing published a draft that would ban or license the export of 40 technologies in AI, biomedicine and solar. Open-source models are exempt. A registration rule is already in force.
By The desk, News · · 2 min read
Tags: china · export-controls · regulation · models · chips
China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology published a draft revision of the country's catalogue of technologies that are prohibited or restricted from export on October 16. It adds 40 technologies in three fields: 23 in artificial intelligence, 12 in solar manufacturing and 5 in biomedicine. The AI items cover large models, AI agents, computing clusters and information processing, according to the ministry's announcement.
According to the state-run Global Times, 14 of the 40 additions would be banned outright and 26 would need an export licence. The proposed bans include core technologies of large models trained on what the draft calls national key sensitive data, and AI agents that serve critical information infrastructure, national defence and core government work. Design technologies for AI chips stacked in 2.5D and 3D would be restricted.
What counts, and what does not
The ministry says technologies that have already entered the public domain through open-source releases or academic papers are not covered. Bloomberg reported, as summarised by The Next Web, that the curbs on large models would cover weights, source code and other core parts, and would apply to models with at least 2 trillion parameters or that rank in the world's top ten on tests such as performance and safety. The draft itself names no model. According to The Next Web, Chinese companies could keep serving users abroad through apps, websites and APIs.
The public can comment until November 15. In the meantime, a temporary rule applies from the day of publication: before exporting any listed technology, companies must register it on the ministry's online platform. That covers transferring ownership of the technology abroad, licensing it to a foreign party, and a Chinese owner or controller being replaced by a foreign one. Exports that have started but are not finished are included.
Our read
Opinion: For years the export-control story ran in one direction, with Washington limiting which chips could go to China. This draft runs the other way. It treats China's top models and chip know-how as strategic assets to keep at home, while leaving the open-weight releases that made Chinese labs popular with developers untouched.
The ownership clause may matter most. In April, Chinese authorities ordered the agent startup Manus to unwind its 2 billion dollar sale to Meta, TechCrunch reported. Under the new rule, a change of control to a foreign buyer now has to be registered first. For Western companies hoping to buy Chinese AI teams or technology, that door is getting narrower.
What we could not check: the full technical list sits in an attachment to the ministry's notice that we could not open, so the parameter threshold and the top-ten test come from Bloomberg's reporting via The Next Web, not from the document itself.
Sources
- Ministry of Commerce of China: Announcement No. 48 of 2026 on revising the export technology catalogue (Chinese)
- Global Times: China adds 40 technologies in AI, biomedicine and PV for export controls in draft revised catalog
- The Next Web: China proposes export controls on its advanced AI models and chip designs
- South China Morning Post: China mulls new tech export bans covering AI, biotech and solar power
- TechCrunch: China's Manus raises over $500M in first funding round since split with Meta