Foreign Media: China's AI Regulation Continues to Tighten, Overseas Use May Be Limited to Calling Models Without Downloading Weights

According to the Financial Times, China's export control of AI technology may be further expanded. Following earlier discussions on restricting overseas access to cutting-edge models, the Ministry of Commerce has sought opinions from companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance, and SenseTime, involving the export of key training data and overseas downloading of model weights.

Overseas users may still be able to call Chinese models online, but they may not necessarily be able to download the weights for local deployment and modification. This is more specific than a generic restriction on model access and could directly weaken the global dissemination of China's open-weight models.

Regulators are also studying restrictions on Chinese companies handing advanced chip designs to overseas manufacturers for fabrication or engaging in joint development with foreign firms. The discussions involve chip designs from Huawei, Alibaba, and ByteDance, as well as overseas partners like TSMC.

These measures may be included in the next version of the "Catalog of China's Prohibited and Restricted Export Technologies." The proposal is still under discussion, and tech companies are concerned that overly strict restrictions could slow down domestic AI research and global expansion in China.