China's commerce and science ministries have proposed adding 23 artificial intelligence technologies to the country's export control list, a step that would limit how some of its most advanced AI models and chip designs can leave the country. The draft was released Friday and covers 40 items in total, including 12 solar technologies and five in biomedicine, such as gene therapy. The public can comment until 15 November.

The AI items range from large language models and AI agents to chip designs. For large models, the curbs would cover model weights, source code and other core components. They would apply to models with at least 2 trillion parameters, or to models that rank among the world's top 10 on tests such as performance and safety, Bloomberg reported.

Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 and Alibaba's Qwen3.8-Max are among the models that exceed that size, according to Bloomberg and the Associated Press. The draft itself does not name any model.

The proposal would also restrict design know-how for AI chips made at 14 nanometers or below, or chips built by stacking components in 2.5D or 3D configurations. Some memory chip designs are on the list as well.

Not everything would be restricted. Open-source code and published research would be exempt. Chinese companies could also keep serving users abroad through apps, websites and application programming interfaces, the ministry said. Running a covered model on servers overseas would count as an export, but firms that run it on their own cloud servers abroad could receive a license automatically.

The ministry said the rules aim to “prevent misuse and abuse” and to “ensure that AI remains under human control.” It added that the plan does not target any country or company.

A separate temporary rule took effect on 16 October and requires firms to register before exporting any of the listed items. The registration requirement also applies to deals that are not yet complete.

The latest draft follows earlier signals from Beijing. Earlier this year, Beijing was reported to be weighing limits on overseas access to its top models. In July, the Financial Times reported that the government was considering export controls on AI models and chips.

Cet article a été rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA.
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