Overview and key takeaways
On 16 October 2026, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (“MOFCOM”) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (“MOST”) issued Announcement [2026] No. 48, seeking public comments until 15 November 2026 on proposed amendments to the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited or Restricted from Export (the “Catalogue”). The proposal marks a significant evolution of China’s technology export control regime, with more sophisticated and nuanced control approaches than previously adopted.
Three key takeaways are:
- Significant expansion of controlled technologies: The proposal adds 40 technologies across artificial intelligence (“AI”), biopharmaceuticals and solar energy, with potentially significant implications for multinational companies with research and development or technology collaboration activities in China.
- More nuanced and risk-based controls: In addition to the traditional distinction between prohibited and restricted technologies, the proposal introduces sector-specific carve-outs and licensing facilitation measures, including “automatic licensing,” with the applicable controls depending in some cases on the form of export, technical parameters and other risk factors.
- Immediate impact before finalization: From 16 October 2026, exports of the newly listed technologies are subject to a temporary registration requirement, giving the proposed controls some effect before the amended Catalogue is finalized.
As under the current Catalogue, the newly added technologies are categorized as either prohibited (with no possibility of obtaining an export license) or restricted (subject to licensing requirements).
The proposed “automatic licensing” mechanism would allow certain exports of restricted technologies essentially upon filing. This mechanism does not exist under the current regulatory framework for technology exports and is expected to be further defined in future rules or guidelines.
The temporary registration mechanism requires exporters to register with MOFCOM before exporting any listed technology from 16 October 2026. That said, technically speaking, registration does not itself amount to an approval or authorization.
Sector-specific requirements
AI
Overall areas
The newly added AI technologies include:
- AI large model technology
- AI agent technology
- AI computing cluster technology
- Technologies for high-performance detection and information countermeasures, including cyber offense and defense
- Information processing technology, including speech and voiceprint recognition and Chinese-language translation
Carve-outs
All technologies in this sector that have entered the public domain through open-source release or academic publication are outside the scope of controls.
For AI models under the “restricted” control category, while overseas localized deployment of restricted AI technologies constitutes an export, providing overseas users with access to models deployed in China through application programming interface (“API”) access, application/web-based interaction, software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) applications or lightweight on-device deployment is not deemed a technology export and is therefore outside the scope of technology export controls.
Distinction between “prohibited” and “restricted” control categories
Technologies relating to AI models, AI agents, and high-performance detection and information countermeasures may fall under either the prohibited or restricted control category, depending on the applicable control parameters. In particular, the “prohibited” control category include the following types of technologies:
- AI large models developed using training data classified as “core data” under China’s data security laws, broadly referring to data bearing on critical interests such as national security and, in practice, generally accessible only to the Chinese government or authorized bodies.
- AI agents used solely or primarily in highly sensitive areas, such as national critical infrastructure, national defense or core government systems.
- AI technologies with strong cyber offensive capabilities.
- High-performance AI detection and identification technologies.
The “restricted” control category, by contract, includes the following types of technologies:
- Technologies for AI large models developed using training data classified as “important data” under China’s data security laws, which is a less sensitive category than core data, or those meeting any of the following technical thresholds: (a) training compute reaches 10²⁶ FLOPs, (b) the model has at least 2 trillion parameters, or (c) the model has globally advanced capabilities (for example, ranking among the top 10 in public benchmarks).
- High-performance AI agent technologies not otherwise falling within the “prohibited” category.
- AI chip and advanced memory chip design technologies.
- Large-scale AI computing cluster technologies, particularly computing clusters with 10,000 or more AI accelerator cards.
- AI-enabled cybersecurity technologies.
- Information processing technologies, including speech and voiceprint recognition and Chinese-language translation.
Automatic licensing
For restricted AI technologies, automatic licensing may apply, subject to further clarification by the authorities, where the export takes certain forms, including open-source release, overseas deployment where the Chinese party retains control, such as deployment in its own overseas cloud environment, or other forms of cross-border technical collaboration.
Biopharmaceuticals
Overall areas
The newly added biopharmaceutical technologies include:
- Cell and gene therapy technologies
- Small nucleic acid drug technologies
- Pathogenic microorganism technologies
Distinction between “prohibited” and “restricted” categories
Pathogenic microorganism technologies are entirely prohibited from export. The other two technology areas may be prohibited or restricted depending on the applicable control parameters.
For cell and gene therapy technologies and small nucleic acid drug technologies, the prohibited control category includes “technology platforms,” meaning reusable, foundational technologies developed through long-term research and development that can support multiple drug products. In contract, the restricted control category includes more targeted technologies, including technologies for the discovery and validation of novel targets, with “novel” meaning not previously publicly disclosed anywhere in the world.
Carve-out under the “prohibited” control category
The prohibition only applies to transfers of intellectual property ownership. Other forms of technology export that do not involve ownership transfer, including licensing, contract research and development and production services, are excluded.
However, if the technology falls under the restricted control category, these other forms of export remain subject to licensing requirements, although automatic licensing may be available.
Also excluded from the “prohibited” control category are cross-border business development collaborations involving technologies on otherwise “prohibited” platforms, where the collaboration relates to specific pharmaceutical products under development or production and is for purposes such as R&D, testing, production, quality control and regulatory approval.
Automatic licensing
Automatic licensing may be available for restricted technologies in this sector where they are:
- used for public health emergencies or humanitarian relief;
- used in cross-border joint research and development projects utilizing overseas resources; or
- exported through licensing without ownership transfer.
Solar energy
This covers technologies used at different levels of the solar energy supply chain for the production of polysilicon, wafers and photovoltaic cells.
Notably, technology export controls in this sector are explicitly extended to a list of core and essential manufacturing equipment that embeds or supports the controlled technologies. This approach has not previously been adopted by MOFCOM for other categories of controlled technologies and appears primarily intended to capture activities involving the deployment of solar manufacturing facilities outside China.
Recommended actions
- Multinational companies operating in the AI, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and solar energy sectors should review their research and development activities in China, as well as collaborations with local Chinese partners involving locally developed know-how and technologies, and determine appropriate compliance or licensing strategies where any such activities may fall within the expanded scope of export controls.
- Companies looking to deploy China-developed AI models or agents outside China, whether for internal or customer-facing purposes, should assess the applicable boundaries and red lines, including whether the proposed deployment may trigger technology export controls.
- More broadly, under the current regulatory environment, technology export controls are relevant not only to research and development and production collaboration, but also to inbound and outbound investments and individual travel involving the transfer of technology. Assessing technology export control risks should therefore be a threshold consideration in these contexts.
