Beijing reportedly wants its top tech talent to seek permission before traveling abroad

China is restricting overseas travel for leading AI specialists from companies including Alibaba and DeepSeek, as Beijing pushes for greater self-reliance in artificial intelligence, robotics, and semiconductors, Bloomberg has reported.

Citing anonymous sources, the outlet claimed on Tuesday that Chinese authorities have begun requiring advanced AI researchers, executives, startup founders, and engineers to obtain approval before traveling abroad.

The measures - which Beijing has neither confirmed nor denied - reportedly reflect growing concerns over protecting strategically important technologies. According to Bloomberg's sources, the government now views top AI talent as a national-security asset, placing them under restrictions previously reserved for nuclear scientists and senior executives at state-owned firms.

Last month, Chinese regulators blocked Meta's planned $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a Chinese AI startup that relocated to Singapore in 2025. Two Manus executives were reportedly barred from leaving China during a probe into the deal, as Beijing simultaneously tightened restrictions on US investment in the country's tech sector.

Bloomberg's sources said that the latest travel restrictions are not connected to the Manus showdown, but are part of a broader policy to stem the flow of critical technology to the West.

For Beijing, placing export controls on talent is a logical next step after slowing the export of other elements in the AI supply chain. In two rounds of restrictions last year, China blocked the export of 14 rare earth minerals critical in the manufacture of high-tech military equipment. It also banned exports of the semiconductors that power AI supercomputers and data centers, as well as the tools used to refine them.

China extracts at least 60% of the world's rare earth metals and processes around 90%. By restricting their export, Beijing is attempting to even the playing field with the US and its partners, which have sought to exclude China from the supply chain, while gaining valuable leverage against Washington in trade negotiations.

China's current five-year-plan, which lays out the country's development objectives through 2030, calls for taking "extraordinary measures" to develop self-sufficiency in semiconductors, AI, and advanced manufacturing.