China Proposes New Export Controls on AI, Biotech and Solar Technology
MOFCOM and MOST jointly floated an October 16, 2026 expansion of China's export control regime covering AI, life sciences and photovoltaic technologies, with licensing and scope details still unconfirmed.
China's Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued a proposal on October 16, 2026 to expand the country's technology export control regime to cover AI, life sciences and photovoltaic technologies, according to Hogan Lovells. The measure appears to be a draft open for comment rather than a final rule, and the source excerpt does not specify the controlled items, licensing thresholds, effective date or comment period; those details should be verified against the Chinese-language texts before any advice is given.
The development matters for major-firm clients well beyond China. AI compute and semiconductor supply chains, biologics and laboratory-equipment exporters, and solar manufacturing participants all face the risk of tighter control categories, licensing, end-user and end-use screening for cross-border shipments, technology transfers and licensing arrangements with Chinese entities — and of parallel restrictions elsewhere, including outbound investment and export control responses by the EU, UK and US.
Practical next steps: map product lines and technology transfers against the proposed categories, screen counterparties and China-nexus end users, monitor the final rule's implementation date and any retaliatory or reciprocal measures, and assess whether transaction structures need amending before controls bite.