China Extends AI Travel Curbs to Executives' Families, Reports Bloomberg
China has extended its travel curbs on top AI and chip executives to their spouses and children, according to a report by Bloomberg. These individuals now require Beijing’s approval to travel abroad, even for brief trips.
Since earlier this year, China has placed travel curbs on key staff at private firms like Alibaba and DeepSeek, aiming to prevent the flow of critical know-how and information to the US. The new rule widens this restriction to include the private sector, where much of China's top AI talent has emerged since ChatGPT's launch.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reported that government agencies have started informing affected individuals about these expanded restrictions, which cover prominent startup founders and heads of strategically important AI companies deemed vital to state security. Several people have already been told they must obtain approval for family travel, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. It remains unclear if the families of everyone already under the curbs will be subject to this new rule, with Beijing planning to expand the list over time.
This move follows Meta’s $2 billion deal for Manus, which sparked official concerns about losing technology and talent. Beijing ordered the deal unwound and implemented rules for enforcing exit bans on September 15th, covering cases from criminal investigations to potential breaches of industrial and technological security.
China's focus is shifting to the private sector, as more elite AI researchers now work in China than in the US, according to a Carnegie study.