China Tightens Entry and Exit Rules, Barring Travel for Technology Export Violations

[Financial News] China has tightened its entry and exit rules to block the outflow of key technologies and talent amid the US-China technological hegemony competition.
On the 1st, Xinhua News Agency reported that the State Council of the People's Republic of China had issued the 'Entry and Exit Administration Regulations' the previous day and said they would take effect on September 15.
Under the new rules, relevant ministries may restrict Chinese nationals from leaving the country if they are deemed likely to harm national industrial security or technology security by violating export controls or technology import and export regulations.
The regulations also state that Chinese citizens who commit acts abroad that undermine national security or national interests may be barred from leaving the country for up to three years after returning home.
Rules for foreign entry have also been tightened. Foreign nationals who submit false documents or make false statements when applying for a Chinese visa or entry may be banned from entering the country for one to five years.
The new rules are seen as an extension of China's move to define advanced technology as a core national security area and strengthen related controls.
In 2023, China significantly expanded the scope of espionage through revisions to its Anti-Espionage Law and broadened the reach of national security to economic and technological areas such as data, technology, supply chains, and key industries.
It then strengthened the Export Control Law and its technology import and export management system. This time, it has also codified a legal basis for exit restrictions on technology security grounds in the Entry and Exit Administration Regulations.
The latest move is widely interpreted as a policy step that institutionalizes efforts to block the outflow of key technologies and talent in advanced industries such as semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as US-China technological competition intensifies.
Earlier, the Financial Times (FT) reported in March that Chinese authorities had banned two co-founders from leaving the country while reviewing a move by U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms to acquire the Chinese AI startup Manus.

[email protected] Yeon Ji-an Reporter