China proposes AI export curbs to keep core technology at home

Draft rules would let foreign users tap Chinese AI through apps and the cloud while restricting transfers of model weights and know-how China wants the world to use its artificial intelligence. It just doesn’t want the world to own it. Draft export rules released on October 16 would restrict foreign companies from obtaining the models, data or expertise needed to run or rebuild Chinese AI systems on their own. Foreign customers would still be able to use Chinese AI services through websites, apps and cloud platforms. According to Reuters, the approach favors a business model already preferred by Beijing and the industry’s biggest players: technology stays onshore, while access gets sold abroad. What the draft actually covers The proposal comes from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). It is a draft revision to the country’s Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited and Restricted from Export. The update adds 40 technologies across three sectors. Artificial intelligence accounts for 23 of them, photovoltaics for 12, and biomedicine for 5. Not all 40 are treated equally. Under the draft, 14 technologies would face an outright export ban, whi...