On September 28, 2026, Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that the Chinese government has expanded exit restrictions for top artificial intelligence (AI) personnel in private companies to include their families, in order to prevent the outflow of important technological information to the United States.

The article quoted a Bloomberg report, conveying information from a source that Chinese authorities, with the aim of preventing the outflow of important technical knowledge and information to the United States, have expanded exit restrictions for top-class AI experts belonging to private companies and included families of key individuals in the scope.

It also mentioned that in May this year, the Chinese government was reported to have imposed travel restrictions on important AI personnel, making it mandatory to obtain approval from authorities before exiting the country, and that for close relatives such as spouses and children of some AI and semiconductor company executives, it has become necessary to obtain prior approval from authorities even for short-term exits.

In addition, the Chinese government has for many years imposed exit restrictions on important individuals such as researchers at famous universities, nuclear physicists, and executives of state-owned enterprises, and it was pointed out that these restrictions are now gradually expanding to the AI field. It was also noted that in China, the world's second-largest economy, top-class AI and scientific technology engineers are regarded as important strategic assets.

On the other hand, it also introduced a related person's statement that "it is not yet known whether all families must comply with the new regulations."

As a related development, the article reported that in China, the "Regulations of the State Council on Exit and Entry Administration" came into effect on the 15th of this month, clarifying specific cases where Chinese citizens are not allowed to exit the country, such as the illegal acquisition of exit and entry related documents, illegal exit and entry, illegal acts or criminal acts abroad, situations that harm national security or interests, or situations that may harm national industrial security or technological security by violating regulations on export control or technology import/export management. (Edited and translated by Kawajiri)