China has proposed export controls covering 23 AI technologies, including restrictions on some large-model technologies and AI-related software. The proposal is open for consultation until 15 November, while some pre-export registration requirements have already taken effect, according to Silicon.co.uk.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The proposal covers 40 technologies across AI, biotechnology and solar power. Silicon.co.uk reports that 14 would be prohibited from export and 26 restricted. In the AI category, the measures include proposed prohibitions on AI-driven malicious code generation and on exporting large models trained on China’s “core data”; models trained on “important data” would face restrictions.
The report also says restrictions would apply to some large-model technologies, including model weights, key checkpoints, source code, architecture and techniques for training optimisation and inference acceleration. The proposal’s consultation runs through 15 November, but certain interim registration requirements for exports are already in force. The Silicon.co.uk report gives the reported scope and examples.
Why it matters
If adopted, the controls could affect what AI technology and expertise can be shared across borders from China. The immediate distinction is worth keeping clear: most of the catalogue is proposed, but the report says some registration requirements have taken effect already. That leaves companies with both a consultation to follow and a present-day compliance question.
Our read
This is more than a broad signal about protecting domestic technology. The reported list reaches into model components and the methods used to train or run them. The consultation period and the split between prohibited and restricted exports matter; treating every measure as already final would be premature, while ignoring the interim requirements would be rather less clever.
What to watch
- Which proposed controls survive the consultation ending 15 November.
- How authorities define the data and technologies covered by the rules.
- What the immediate registration requirements mean for exporters in practice.
Discussion spark: Should controls on exporting AI models and their underlying technology be narrowly tied to national security, or can broad restrictions protect a domestic AI ecosystem without chilling legitimate research and trade?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (29 October 2026, 11:00 UTC)
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