Beijing is weighing new restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies, escalating an ongoing trade conflict with the United States.
Chinese regulators, led by the Ministry of Commerce, have been consulting with top domestic AI and chipmaking firms about how to protect advanced technologies from Western acquisition.
Representatives from Alibaba, ByteDance, and AI startup Z.ai all participated in the government-led discussions, according to a Financial Times report.
The proposed rules would restrict how Chinese AI models, training data, model weights, and chip designs can be shared or deployed overseas.
Regulators are also weighing limits on foreign acquisitions of Chinese companies operating in strategic sectors, including the fast-growing field of agentic AI.
Participants in the discussions proposed a three-tier structure for governing how sensitive technologies can be shared or released internationally.
Under that framework, basic open-source tools would require only a simple government filing, while more advanced technologies would face security reviews before any overseas release.
The most sensitive frontier models would be barred from public release entirely or restricted to domestic use only under the proposed structure.
One source familiar with the discussions said officials floated the idea of making any theft or leak of proprietary AI systems a punishable offense under China’s national security legislation.
The scope of the potential restrictions remains under debate, and two sources indicated that any measures may apply only to future AI models rather than those already in existence.
No timeline has been established for the rules to take effect, and it remains uncertain whether any formal policy will ultimately be implemented.
“Any decision by Beijing to limit access to those products could ripple across AI markets as costs for many businesses would likely increase,” according to reporting on the matter.
The deliberations represent only the latest move in a prolonged series of tit-for-tat trade restrictions between China and the United States spanning technology, semiconductors, and national security.
Washington has spent years tightening export controls on advanced chips and AI-related technologies to limit China’s access to cutting-edge tools that could provide a military or economic advantage.
Beijing’s potential countermeasures signal a shift toward actively restricting the outward flow of its own homegrown AI advancements, rather than simply responding to American restrictions on imports.
