AI Export Controls

China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology issued a draft on October 16, 2026, proposing to add 40 technologies to the country's export control list, covering artificial intelligence, biomedicine and photovoltaics. Fourteen would be prohibited from export and 26 would be restricted. Twenty-three of the 40 relate to AI, including large language models, agents, chip designs and computing clusters. For the largest models, the draft would cover model weights, checkpoints, source code and architecture. Beijing says the goal is "the safety and controllability" of AI technology, pointing to misuse risks such as attacks on critical infrastructure.