Chinese authorities have tightened exit rules for founders and key experts of artificial intelligence companies. Bloomberg reported this, citing sources.
According to the report, now the heads, researchers and senior employees of private technology companies such as DeepSeek and Alibaba must obtain special permits to travel abroad.
It is reported that the Chinese authorities took this step in order to protect critical technologies and prevent the outflow of specialists against the backdrop of intensifying competition in the technology sector with the United States.
Previously, such restrictions were mainly applied to some scientists and heads of state-owned enterprises. Now the rules also cover the private IT and artificial intelligence sector.
Experts believe that the new restrictions may create problems for Chinese companies in terms of attracting international talent and retaining existing personnel in the country.
It should be noted that in April 2026, the Chinese authorities suspended the plan to acquire the startup Manus from Meta. According to the report, a travel ban has also been imposed on the company's CEO Xiao Hong and chief scientific officer Ji Yichao.
