China's AI export controls explained: what the draft covers

China has proposed adding AI models, AI agents and large computing setups to its list of technologies that can't be freely sent abroad. The plan covers 40 technologies in total, across AI, biomedicine and solar power.

On Friday 16 October, China's commerce ministry announced a proposal to add 40 technologies from AI, biomedicine and photovoltaics (solar power) to its catalogue of technologies that are prohibited or restricted from export, according to Reuters.

The AI items include AI models, intelligent agents (AI systems that carry out tasks) and computing clusters (large groups of linked computers used to train and run AI). Reuters calls these "three fundamental building blocks of China's AI industry".

Public comment on the revision is open until 15 November. China is also putting interim pre-export registration management in place for the relevant technologies. That means exporters would need to register before sending the technologies out.

The ministry said applications of related technologies in sensitive fields are "constantly expanding". It described the move as routine and said it "does not target any specific country, region or entity." Reuters links the proposal to rising competition and geopolitical tension with the US over frontier AI, meaning the most advanced systems.

Some secondary outlets, citing Global Times, report that 14 of the items are prohibited and 26 need a licence. They also report a split of 23 AI, 12 solar and 5 biomedicine technologies. We couldn't check these figures against a primary source, so treat them with caution.

The notes available so far don't say how this would change anything for everyday users of AI tools. The proposal is a draft, and the final list could differ.

What is known is that the rules concern exports of technology. They are not described as a ban on using any particular AI product.

In July, the Financial Times reported that Beijing was weighing limits on foreign access to its top models, on overseas downloads of model weights (the learned settings that make up a trained model) and on transfers of training data. It is not confirmed that this draft includes any of those measures.

The comment period runs until 15 November. After that, the ministry will decide on the final form of the revision. No date for that has been given.