China Imposes Travel Limits on AI Workers at Private Firms: Report
China is increasing controls over key private-sector AI talent by requiring some senior workers at firms like Alibaba and DeepSeek to obtain government approval before traveling abroad. These restrictions target startup founders, researchers, and executives deemed strategically important to China’s AI goals, with selection based on national interest rather than just rank or employer. Details about how many people are affected or which roles qualify remain unclear. Previously, some private AI employees needed only to report, not seek approval for, overseas trips. This move follows other state interventions in the tech sector, including ordering Meta to unwind a major AI acquisition and urging continued shifts toward domestic chip suppliers over U.S. options. The new travel curbs complicate Beijing's efforts to attract top global scientific talent back home, signaling that the Chinese government views elite AI and semiconductor experts’ international mobility as a security issue. These developments highlight a blurring division between private industry and the state in China’s tech sector, with national security increasingly shaping the careers and freedoms of AI researchers and executives.
