China proposes export controls on 40 AI, biomedicine and solar technologies, starts pre-export registration

China's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology published Announcement No. 48 of 2026 on 2026-10-16, opening a public consultation on a draft revision of the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export. According to the announcement, the revision would add 40 technologies in three fields: 23 in artificial intelligence, 5 in biomedicine and 12 in photovoltaics. Comments can be submitted from 2026-10-16 to 2026-11-15. The ministries cite China's foreign trade law and its technology import and export regulations as the legal basis.

In AI, the announcement lists technologies related to large models, agents, computing clusters and information processing. It states that technologies that have already entered the public domain, for example through open-source releases or academic papers, would not be covered. The biomedicine entries concern cell and gene therapy, small nucleic acid drugs and pathogenic microorganisms; for outbound licensing arrangements that do not transfer ownership, the ministries say facilitation measures such as automatic licensing would apply. The photovoltaic entries cover polysilicon, wafer and cell manufacturing, and the scope extends to the key and core equipment that embodies those technologies. The detailed technical scope is set out in an annex that was not part of the material reviewed here.

The catalogue distinguishes between technologies whose export is banned outright and technologies whose export is restricted. TechNode Global reported a split of 14 outright export bans and 26 restricted items among the 40 technologies. TechNode reported that proposed prohibited items include systems that autonomously generate or modify malicious code and certain core large-model technologies trained on sensitive national data, while restricted items include AI-assisted vulnerability discovery and technologies tied to advanced models, agents and computing infrastructure. For restricted technologies, TechNode said overseas deployment may count as an export, but Chinese firms running their own overseas cloud or computing centres, fabricating chips abroad, doing joint research or taking part in standards work may qualify for simplified or automatic licensing. Reporting by Fortune and The Associated Press said models with parameter counts of 2 trillion or more, or with certain world-leading capabilities, could be restricted, and that some chip design technologies for AI processors and memory chips are also included. The draft does not name specific models.

Separately from the consultation, the announcement imposes a temporary registration requirement with immediate effect. From the day of publication until the revised catalogue formally takes effect, technology exporters must register on the Ministry of Commerce's technology trade platform before exporting any technology listed in the annex. Exports that have started but are not yet complete fall within the registration scope. The announcement lists the covered situations: transferring technology ownership abroad, such as assigning intellectual property; licensing domestic technology for use abroad; a change of the owner or actual controller of a domestic technology to a foreign entity; and other cases the ministry specifies by notice. Registrations must include basic information on the exporter and recipient, the destination country or region, the technology and its intended use, and the expected export value. TechNode noted that registering is distinct from receiving final approval under the proposed catalogue.

A commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement that the measures were necessary and cited national security among the reasons, according to Fortune and The Associated Press, which quoted the statement as aiming to reinforce the security bottom line, prevent misuse and abuse, and keep AI under human control. TechNode reported the ministry's statement that no specific country, region or entity is targeted, and that most AI technologies would remain freely exportable, with access to services through APIs, websites, apps or software-as-a-service generally not treated as a large-model technology export when no restricted technology changes hands. Fortune and the AP placed the proposal in the context of an intensifying technology race with countries including the United States, noting that U.S.-led restrictions have in past years blocked China from the most advanced AI chips and the equipment used to make them, and that the draft came as the two countries made progress in talks on AI safety and an incident notification mechanism. Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia, was quoted by Fortune and the AP as saying the move can be read as a response to Western sovereignty requirements on key technologies, and Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis, said access to technology is becoming more fragmented. The final catalogue may still change after the consultation.