The Chinese government announced that it will implement new regulations on 15 September allowing it to prohibit Chinese nationals in high-tech fields from leaving the country. The move is intended to prevent the outflow of critical technologies such as AI and semiconductors, and warnings have been issued regarding technical guidance overseas and technology transfers during business trips.
The Chinese government announced that it will implement new regulations on 15 September allowing it to prohibit Chinese nationals working in high-tech fields such as AI and semiconductors from leaving the country. The regulations explicitly state that permission to leave may be denied when a person could pose a threat to national industrial or technological security.
Trade promotion organizations are warning engineers and researchers in fields including AI, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and dual-use technologies to exercise caution when providing technical guidance overseas or transferring technology on business trips. Stricter oversight is also expected for documents and product samples brought to conferences held abroad.
While some observers believe the new regulations will severely restrict the departure of executives and engineers at emerging companies such as DeepSeek and major companies such as Alibaba Group, they also explicitly call for tighter exit controls for travel to countries and regions the government has publicly identified as posing high travel risks.
Amid deteriorating China-Japan relations, China has called on its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan, raising the possibility that restrictions on Chinese nationals planning to visit Japan will be tightened further.