China proposes export controls on 23 AI technologies, from large models to AI agents

China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology on Friday, 16 October 2026, opened a public consultation on changes to the national catalogue of technologies whose export is banned or restricted, China Daily reported.

What the draft covers

• In total, 40 technologies in artificial intelligence, biomedicine and photovoltaics: 14 would be prohibited from export and 26 restricted.
• According to the Commerce Ministry, 23 of them are AI technologies spanning large models, AI agents, computing clusters and information processing.
• Biomedicine: five additions related to pathogenic microorganisms, cell and gene therapies and small nucleic-acid drugs.
• Solar: 12 technologies used in polysilicon, silicon-wafer and solar-cell manufacturing.
• The consultation runs until 15 November. Meanwhile, temporary pre-export registration applies immediately, until the revised catalogue takes effect.

Official position

A ministry spokesperson called the revision “a routine part of technology trade management” that “does not target any specific country, region or entity”, and said the AI controls would cover a narrowly defined range, with “the vast majority” of AI technologies remaining freely exportable. The draft also provides for automatic licensing and streamlined procedures for eligible AI exports, including open-source releases and overseas joint research.

The figures above come from China Daily’s report on the official notice; the full text of the draft is published on the Ministry of Commerce website.