China is weighing restrictions on foreign access to its most advanced AI models. Both superpowers now treat AI as a strategic asset. Europe's already weak bargaining position could erode further as a result.
Chinese authorities held talks last month with leading tech companies about potentially restricting foreign access to China's most advanced AI models, Reuters reports, citing three people familiar with the discussions. The restrictions would also cover unreleased models. Alibaba, ByteDance, and the startup Z.ai all attended the meetings, according to the report.
The talks, led by the Ministry of Commerce, covered limits on high-performance systems, both closed and open models. Officials considered placing theft or transfer of protected AI technology under China's strict national security law, according to one source. They also discussed tighter controls over who can fund domestic AI startups. The scope of any rules is still being debated and may only apply to future models. Whether and when they take effect remains an open question.
Since DeepSeek's R1 launched, Chinese models have gained ground worldwide thanks to low costs and growing capabilities. Alibaba's Qwen and ByteDance's Doubao rank among the most widely used models in China, and Z.ai recently made waves with GLM-5.2, which approaches US frontier performance at a fraction of the cost. If Beijing limits access, costs for many companies would rise.
