China proposes export controls on AI models, agents and compute clusters

On 16 October China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology (Announcement 2026 No. 48) proposed adding 40 technologies to the list China prohibits or restricts for export, 23 of them in AI, covering large models, agents, computing clusters and information processing. Technology already public through open source or published papers is excluded. Comments are open until 15 November, and in the meantime exports, licensing or a change of control to a foreign owner involving these technologies must be registered with the ministry first, including deals already under way. The detailed thresholds sit in an attachment and are still a draft.