Exclusive-Beijing is looking at curbing overseas access to China's top AI models, sources say

By Fanny Potkin

SINGAPORE, July 7 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities person held meetings with apical tech firms implicit the past period astir perchance restricting overseas entree to China's astir precocious AI models, including those yet to beryllium released, 3 radical acquainted with the discussions said.

The talks travel a fig of steps by Beijing to support homegrown ‌AI wrong the state and underscore however China, similar the U.S., is present treating cutting-edge artificial quality arsenic a captious nationalist plus that needs controls.

Companies contiguous astatine the talks included ‌tech giants Alibaba and ByteDance arsenic good arsenic startup Z.ai, said the people, who were not authorised to talk to media and declined to beryllium identified.

Since the emergence of DeepSeek's R1 exemplary past year, Chinese AI models person made large ​inroads globally acknowledgment to their debased costs and expanding capabilities. Any determination by Beijing to bounds entree to those products could ripple crossed AI markets arsenic costs for galore businesses would apt increase.

TOUGHENING UP PENALTIES FOR AI THEFT DISCUSSED

At the meetings, led by China's Ministry of Commerce, participants discussed putting limits connected the astir precocious AI models — some closed-source and much unfastened versions, according to 2 of the sources.

Officials talked astir making immoderate leak oregon theft of proprietary AI exertion an offence nether China's stringent nationalist information law, 1 of the sources said.

The officials besides raised the anticipation of implementing caller measures to restrict who ‌can money home AI startups, the root added.

The scope of the ⁠potential restrictions is inactive being discussed, 2 sources said, adding that they whitethorn lone use to aboriginal models. It was not instantly wide erstwhile oregon adjacent if they would travel into force.

China's commerce ministry, which oversees export regulations, and the National Development and Reform Commission — the country's authorities readying bureau whose ⁠officials besides attended the meetings — did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Alibaba, ByteDance and Z.ai besides did not respond to Reuters queries.

All 3 companies person a scope of AI models, immoderate closed-source portion others are open-weight, meaning users tin download, tally and customise the underlying systems.

Alibaba's Qwen and ByteDance's Doubao are 2 of the astir wide utilized AI models successful China. Z.ai has precocious acceptable Silicon Valley abuzz arsenic the capabilities of its ​GLM-5.2 ​model travel adjacent to starring U.S. offerings but astatine a fraction of the cost.

AI MODELS AND NATIONAL SECURITY ​CONCERNS