China proposes sweeping export curbs on AI, solar and biomedicine technologies
Beijing's Announcement No. 48 proposes to prohibit or restrict exports of 40 cutting-edge technologies, including large AI models, chip designs and photovoltaic processes, as a counter to Western chip controls.
On October 16-17, 2026, China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology issued Announcement No. 48, a draft revision of the country's Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export. The proposal covers 40 categories of cutting-edge technologies, of which 14 would be fully banned and 26 would require a government licence. The scope includes 23 artificial intelligence technologies - from large language models and AI agents to chip designs, model weights and source code above set performance thresholds - plus key photovoltaic processes and biomedical techniques. A temporary export registration requirement took effect immediately for the listed technologies and applies even to shipments already in progress. Beijing opened a public consultation running from October 16 to November 15, 2026. Technologies already in the public domain through open-source releases or academic publication are exempt. The move is widely read as a response to U.S. chip and software restrictions and gives China a new lever over global AI and clean-energy supply chains. Bloomberg, US News and specialist tech outlets led coverage on October 17, with analysts warning the rules could complicate dealings between Chinese labs and Western partners for years to come.
