China Starts Interim Registration for Controlled Technology Exports

China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology began requiring exporters to register certain controlled technology transfers Oct. 16 as they seek comments on changes to the country’s export-control catalog.

Until the revised catalog takes effect, the interim requirement covers transfers of technology ownership, licenses for overseas use and transfers of control rights to foreign entities. It also applies to exports already underway but not yet completed. Companies must register through the Ministry of Commerce’s business system before exporting.

The proposed revision would add 40 technologies across AI, biomedicine and solar power. It lists 23 AI technologies, including large models, AI agents, computing clusters and information processing. Across all three sectors, 14 technologies would be prohibited from export and 26 would be restricted.

Examples include technology for using AI to generate and alter malicious code, which would be prohibited, and AI-assisted vulnerability discovery, which would be restricted. The proposal excludes technologies that entered the public domain through open-source releases or academic publications.

The Ministry of Commerce said providing large-model services through APIs, apps, websites, software as a service or lightweight local deployments does not count as exporting the underlying model technology. Some exports tied to open-source AI, overseas computing centers, chip fabrication abroad, joint research and international standards can receive automatic licensing treatment. Other distinctions in the proposal include its rules for model transfers and API access.

The public comment period runs through Nov. 15.