[FLASH] China drafts export controls on its own AI models, weights, agents and chip designs
On Oct 16, China's commerce and science ministries proposed adding 23 AI technologies to a 40-item export-control catalog, covering large models, agents, chip designs and computing clusters. TNW reported that model weights and source code would be restricted above a threshold of 2 trillion parameters or 'world-leading' capability, while open-source code and app or API access are exempt. An interim registration requirement took effect the same day. Startup Fortune described it as Beijing's first move to restrict trained AI systems rather than only hardware, with Chinese open-weight models as the main target. Public comment closes Nov 15, and the open question is how future open-weight releases are treated.