BEIJING — China has expanded restrictions on overseas travel for senior professionals in strategically important artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies, with spouses and children of some executives now required to obtain government approval before travelling abroad.
The measures extend existing controls on prominent AI researchers, founders and executives and reflect Beijing’s growing concern over the loss of sensitive technology, intellectual property and specialised talent amid its competition with the United States.
People familiar with the policy said Chinese government agencies have begun notifying affected individuals that immediate family members may also require clearance before leaving the country, including for short overseas trips.
The restrictions apply to selected senior figures at private companies considered important to China’s technological and national-security interests. Those covered include startup founders and executives involved in AI and semiconductor development.
The new requirements do not constitute a blanket ban on foreign travel. Instead, individuals and, in some cases, their families must obtain official approval before travelling overseas.
It remains unclear how widely the family restrictions are being applied. Two people familiar with the matter said government departments had already informed several individuals that their spouses or children would need permission to travel abroad.
The expansion comes as Beijing places increasing strategic importance on retaining AI researchers, engineers and executives inside China. Much of the country’s leading AI talent works for private technology companies and startups rather than state-owned enterprises, making private-sector expertise an increasingly important part of China's technology strategy.
China had already introduced overseas travel restrictions for some senior AI professionals at companies including Alibaba and DeepSeek. The latest measures extend that scrutiny to their immediate families.
The restrictions come amid intensifying competition between China and the United States over advanced AI, semiconductors and other technologies regarded as strategically important. Washington has imposed restrictions on China's access to some advanced chips and semiconductor equipment, while Beijing has sought to strengthen domestic alternatives and retain critical technical expertise.
Chinese authorities have long imposed travel restrictions on individuals whose work is considered sensitive. Researchers involved in strategic technologies, nuclear scientists and senior executives at state-owned companies have previously faced controls on overseas travel, and their family members have sometimes been subject to similar restrictions.
The expansion to private-sector AI professionals reflects the growing strategic value Beijing places on the country's technology companies and their employees.
Concerns over the transfer of technology and talent have also intensified following the US acquisition of Manus, an artificial intelligence startup with Chinese roots. The Chinese government subsequently ordered the deal to be unwound, while Beijing has separately moved to tighten scrutiny of foreign investment involving sensitive technology companies.
Officials have not publicly linked the new family travel restrictions directly to the Manus case. The broader objective, according to people familiar with the policy, is to prevent strategically important technology and expertise from leaving China.
China has also introduced separate rules governing exit bans that took effect in September. The regulations allow authorities to restrict overseas travel in cases involving criminal investigations and potential violations of industrial or technological security.
The government is expected to expand the list of individuals covered by such restrictions over time, according to people familiar with the matter.
For China's private technology sector, the measures add another layer of government oversight to an industry already facing tighter regulation. Executives and researchers with international professional and personal ties may now have to consider government approval when planning overseas travel for themselves or their families.
The policy also illustrates the extent to which Beijing now treats AI and semiconductor expertise as strategic assets. As the competition with Washington intensifies, retaining people with knowledge of advanced technologies has become closely linked to China's broader effort to strengthen domestic technological capabilities.
The immediate scope of the latest restrictions remains unclear. But by extending travel controls beyond individual executives to their families, Beijing has broadened the measures governing the movement of some of the country's most strategically important private-sector technology personnel.
