China Proposes Export Controls on 23 AI Technologies, Exempting Open-Source Releases

China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology released a draft revision to the Catalog of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export on October 16, 2026. The proposal adds 40 technologies across AI, biomedicine, and solar PV, with 23 AI-related items covering foundation/large models, intelligent agents, computing clusters, and information processing technologies.

Open-Source Exemptions and Licensing

The draft explicitly exempts technologies already made public via open-source releases or academic publications from these controls. Additionally, open-sourcing AI technologies and certain activities, such as Chinese firms building their own overseas compute centers, are eligible for streamlined automatic licensing.

API Access and Deployment Rules

Providing access via APIs, apps, websites, or SaaS is generally not treated as a technology export. However, the overseas local deployment of restricted models can fall under the rules, though facilitation may apply in lower-risk cases like a company’s own overseas cloud.

Impact on Future Releases

While not a blanket ban on open-weight models, new models not yet released may face registration or approval steps before weights or source code can be transferred abroad. Thresholds based on performance, parameters, and data sensitivity are still being defined. Chinese labs such as DeepSeek and Qwen could face additional compliance requirements for future open releases.