China moves to curb tech exports, including AI, citing national security
risks
[October 17, 2026] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — China on Friday said it plans to restrict or ban
exports of 40 technologies that span artificial intelligence, chips and
solar power as its technology race with countries including the United
States intensifies.
The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology jointly
published a draft document with the proposed updates for China’s catalog
of technologies subjected to export bans or restrictions.
A spokesperson from the commerce ministry said in a statement that the
move was “necessary” and cited national security as one of the reasons.
The proposal came as China and the U.S. made progress in dialogues over
AI safety and governance and on the setting up of a notification
mechanism between the two superpowers for AI incidents that could
threaten national security.
Twenty-three AI technologies, from advanced large models to agents, are
included on Friday's list, according to the Chinese ministries.
U.S.-led restrictions have curbed the export of some advanced
technologies to China over the past years, with the country blocked from
accessing the world’s most cutting-edge AI chips and the advanced
chipmaking machines that make them.
Exports of core technologies of AI large models trained using sensitive
national data would be prohibited under the Chinese proposal, along with
AI agents that are designed to be used in highly sensitive environments
such as national defense and critical information infrastructure.
“The Chinese government is implementing such necessary measures with the
aims of reinforcing the security bottom line, preventing misuse and
abuse, and ensuring that AI remains under human control,” the commerce
ministry’s statement said.
Meanwhile, exports of AI models with parameter counts of 2 trillion or
above, or with certain world-leading capabilities, could be restricted.
An AI model's parameter count is a key metric that reflects its learning
capacity.
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Vendors for AI enabled robots wait for customers at the 137th Canton
Fair in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province on April
16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
 Chinese AI models including
Moonshot’s Kimi K3 and Alibaba’s Qwen 3.8-Max are among those with
parameter counts exceeding 2 trillion, but Friday’s proposal did not
name specific models.
Several chip design technologies, including for some AI processing
chips and memory chips, are also included in the proposed export
restrictions.
Twelve solar power-related technologies are also included, including
those related to the making of polysilicon, a core raw material for
the solar supply chain, as well as five biomedicine technologies
including those related to cell and gene therapy.
The move “can be seen as a response to Western countries posting
sovereignty requirements on AI, robotics, telecommunications, and
other key technologies,” said Lian Jye Su, a chief analyst at
technology research and advisory group Omdia. The aim would be to
better regulate access to the Chinese technologies, he believes.
The U.S. Commerce Department in June had asked Anthropic to bar
foreign nationals from using some of its most powerful AI models,
Fable 5 and Mythos 5, citing national security concerns. The
restrictions were later lifted.
AI is increasingly strategic for both China and the U.S., added Gary
Ng, a senior economist at French bank Natixis. “The world is getting
more fragmented in trade and investment, but also in access to
technologies,” Ng said.
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