Beijing's Counterstrike: China Prepares New Export Restrictions for AI Models and Chips

In the global technological confrontation between the US and China, a striking synchronicity of actions is observed. Almost immediately after representatives of the American artificial intelligence industry spoke about the need for new restrictions on Chinese developments, the authorities of the PRC announced their own countermove. According to the Financial Times, Beijing plans to tighten control over the export of advanced chips and AI models.

Protecting Technological Sovereignty

Reuters previously reported that Chinese officials are actively holding meetings with leaders of the local technology sector this month. The main goal of these meetings is to develop mechanisms to restrict the supply of advanced Chinese-made chips and AI models to certain countries. Furthermore, the authorities intend to create a reliable barrier against the acquisition of promising Chinese startups by foreign capital.

A vivid example of such policy was the recent story with the startup Manus. The company could not come under the control of the American corporation Meta Platforms precisely due to the tough stance of Chinese regulators, who blocked the deal.

Data Control and "Open Weights"

Chinese leadership also held preventive talks with industry giants — Alibaba, ByteDance, and Zhipu. The topic of conversation was the restriction of cross-border data transfer used for training neural networks. In particular, officials insist that models with open weights be protected from free downloading by foreign users.

In the semiconductor sector, Beijing is considering a ban on foreign companies releasing chips that use technologies developed by Chinese competitors. This could lead to an update of the catalog of technologies prohibited for export, which was last expanded in 2025.

Risks for the Domestic Industry

It is also planned to introduce a ban on deals involving foreign investors that allow them to gain control over strategically important Chinese technologies, including agent AI. All these changes will be implemented only after detailed discussion with industry representatives.

However, not all market participants support the hard line. As the Financial Times notes, some experts have expressed concern that new restrictive measures could slow down the development of China's own artificial intelligence industry by isolating it from the global market.