Chinese authorities have held discussions with some of the country's biggest technology companies over the past month on restricting overseas access to China's most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models, including those that have not yet been released, according to three Reuters sources.

Beijing has made a slew of moves in recent months to gatekeep its cutting edge and cost-efficient models.

China is considering tighter controls on overseas access to advanced AI models, balancing innovation, national security, and global AI competition.

Chinese authorities have held discussions with some of the country's biggest technology companies over the past month on restricting overseas access to China's most advanced…